To feel disappointed after reading this in The Observer about the author and her husband from The Salt Path book and film?

[DisappointedReader]

The real Salt Path: how the couple behind a bestseller le...

I read Raynor Winn's book The Salt Path and her other two books. I was looking forward to seeing the film at some point and to reading her next book. I felt sorry to read about the challenges the couple had faced, especially with regard to losing their family home and with Moth's health. Now, having read the article in today's Observer, I feel a bit stunned and am not sure what to think.

I'm actually slightly in awe at their sheer commitment to grifting.

I think that’s just the google search result bringing up multiple companies, it doesn’t seem like the same business to me. I got the same so I get how you thought that. On companies house under Four Hares Sally walker is listed as born Dec 1962, and Tim in July 1960.

They dont strike me as the type to necessarily get married

So:

1. She was born Sally Winn (public records show this)
2. Used Raynor Winn as a pen name for writing (and perhaps for other things too)
3. Used Sally Walker as her married name

Sorry @DisappointedReader - I didn't realise you'd come back or I wouldn't have started a second thread.

Perhaps not, but all media records so far refer to them as husband and wife, including the Observer article. Does she refer to him as her husband in the book, out of interest?

Also, the Daily Mail have published an article about this now (think they took so long as they were biding their time waiting for
the right angle to take!) - www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14880299/couple-memoir-Salt-Path-film-Gillian-Anderson-Jason-Isaacs.html

And he's

1. born Timothy Walker
2. Uses Moth Winn as his name, with 'real' name Ray

So born Sally A Winn. Married to become Sally Walker. Needs a pen name (there is actually a Cornish author called Sally Walker who writes witchcraft type books). So uses her maiden name and her mother’s maiden name to form the pen name Raynor Winn. None of that is too odd.

But the marriage certificate you found having the name Sally Walker marrying Timothy Winn is ODD. Transcriber error? Presumably you had to prove who you were before marrying in 1982?

I agree, even if the story had been true it would be irresponsible to give the message that walking had healed Moth. Now that it seems to have been largely made up, it’s even worse.

Mail have been relatively gentle

BarbaricYawp

yes there are birth that fit boys snd girl but as you say names are different - I don't see the need to put them here, its unfair imo

I wonder who the spokeswoman is who says the Observer's account is "highly misleading"?

But doesn't say why...

Yeah I thought that. They’re basically rehashing the Observer story and not adding anything new. I suppose they thought they should also publish it, as most Mail readers won’t read the Observer, and vice versa.

Will anyone be creating a thread 2 if OP isn’t around?

In the headline photo the DM article uses they look freakishly alike.

No, that's not them, after all. @MikeRafone did more digging on that. There doesn't seem to be a marriage in England/Wales at least.

Here is Thread 2 as this one will be full soon:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/5368685-thread-2-to-feel-disappointed-after-reading-this-in-the-observer-about-the-author-and-her-husband-from-the-salt-path-book-and-film

Funny that I’m not surprised. I wouldn’t have guessed this level of deception, but I thought the story about losing the house was a bit off , and I didn’t think she came across as that nice a person in the book.
gave it away, haven’t read any of the others and wasn’t intending to see the film either.

Do you know where the name ‘Ray’ has come from, out of interest? Is it just mentioned in that Independent article? Love all the swapping around of Ray/Raynor between her mum, her and him 😂

But the marriage certificate you found having the name Sally Walker marrying Timothy Winn is ODD. Transcriber error? Presumably you had to prove who you were before marrying in 1982?

there is a person with that name having married in that are and then proceeds to have children in that area - I doubt very much its a transcriber error in this case, its not odd for many people to have similar name but switched around and be different people. Or even have the same exact animus and get married at similar times but in different places - had a man once find same names but in a different area of same county and he traced them another 4 generations, only they weren't his family and his family was actually far more interesting as they were bigamist

I was positive I'd seen in in an interview she gave where someone had asked her where it came from. But, other than the Independent I can't find it.

And now when you Google 'real name' it comes up with a completely different set of results!

I badly want Anderson & Isaacs to reprise their roles as Raynor & Moth, only this time in a tv mini series about the unravelling of the fraud.

I did come back to do it but luckily saw that it had already been done!

Thanks to @AWanderingFool

That would be awesome!

I’m with you…