Mary Bartholomew
Many people have committed time and energy to the project over its lifetime, and have made contributions to its success, of whom Mary Bartholomew, the site editor and driving force for its growth during its most successful years, was without doubt the most significant. Sadly, Mary died on 28th February 2019.
She began working for the SPCK Bookshop in Chichester in 1984, and went on to manage the Carlisle shop until she 'retired' in 1998.
One of the new interests Mary took up was writing book reviews for the Good BookStall website. She became Editor of The Good BookStall in 2001 when the original editor, Dora Smith, was unable to continue. She expanded and developed the site beyond Guy Taylor's original concept of being a support to church bookstall managers, tirelessly learning new IT skills, recruiting a large team of fellow reviewers and celebrity guest reviewers, and using her Radio Cumbria experience to make many of the reviews available in audio as well as written form. She retired from being site editor in 2012, but continued to review books. She touched the lives of many with her energy, enthusiasm and commitment, both through this project and through the many other Christian activities she was involved with. She will be greatly missed.