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'A very good novel indeed about the fragility and also the tenacity
of love' commented the "Spectator" about this 1953 novel by Dorothy
Whipple, which was ignored fifty years ago because 'editors are
going mad for action and passion' (as she was told by her
publisher). But this last novel by a writer whose books had
previously been bestsellers is outstandingly good by any standards.
Apparently 'a fairly ordinary tale about the destruction of a happy
marriage' (Nina Bawden in the Preface) yet 'it makes compulsive
reading' in its description of an ordinary family ('Ellen was that
unfashionable creature, a happy housewife') struck by disaster when
the husband, in a moment of weak, mid-life vanity, runs off with a
French girl.Dorothy Whipple is a superb stylist, with a calm
intelligence in the tradition of Mrs Gaskell (both wrote in the
"Midlands" and had similar preoccupations). 'The prose is simple,
the psychology spot on' said the "Telegraph", and John Sandoe Books
commented: 'We have all delighted in this unjustly forgotten novel;
it is well written and compelling'.
'A very good novel indeed about the fragility and also the tenacity
of love' commented the Spectator recently about this 1953 novel by
Dorothy Whipple, which was ignored fifty years ago because 'editors
are going mad for action and passion' (as she was told by her
publisher). But this last novel by a writer whose books had
previously been bestsellers is outstandingly good by any standards.
Apparently 'a fairly ordinary tale about the destruction of a happy
marriage' (Nina Bawden in the Preface) yet 'it makes compulsive
reading' in its description of an ordinary family ('Ellen was that
unfashionable creature, a happy housewife') struck by disaster when
the husband, in a moment of weak, mid-life vanity, runs off with a
French girl. Dorothy Whipple is a superb stylist, with a calm
intelligence in the tradition of Mrs Gaskell (both wrote in the
Midlands and had similar preoccupations). 'The prose is simple, the
psychology spot on' said the Telegraph, and John Sandoe Books
commented: 'We have all delighted in this unjustly forgotten novel;
it is well written and compelling.'
On the Scottish island of Skua, friendship develops between the
lonely and mysterious Perdita and a blind girl, Janey. Both possess
a kind of second sight - Janey's is the ability to hear, feel and
remember more than others, and Perdita's is the ominous legacy of
her being a witch's daughter. When Janey's brother, Tom, starts
investigating a cluster of mysterious events and suspicious
characters, all three become entwined in an adventure of hidden
jewels, desperate criminals and dangerous detection. Written in
1963, The Witch's Daughter showcases Nina Bawden's innate regard
for the integrity of her young characters. As she has said: 'I like
writing for children. It seems to me that most people underestimate
their understanding and the strength of their feelings and in my
books for them I try to put this right.' Hugely admired on
publication by both reviewers and readers, it was described as
'thrilling' by the Times Literary Supplement.
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Carrie's War (Paperback)
Nina Bawden; Illustrated by Alan Marks; Foreword by Emma Carroll; Introduction by Michael Morpurgo
1
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R249
R203
Discovery Miles 2 030
Save R46 (18%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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One of the most loved and enduring wartime novels, Carrie's War is
a modern classic. WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY MICHAEL MORPURGO AND
ILLUSTRATIONS BY ALAN MARKS 'A touching, utterly convincing book'
JACQUELINE WILSON 'Poignant and realistic . . . Carrie's War
captures the true reality of war for a child, and it doesn't
sentimentalise war' SHIRLEY HUGHES, GUARDIAN 'I did a dreadful
thing, the worst thing of my life, when I was twelve and a half
years old, and nothing can change it' It is wartime and Carrie and
her little brother Nick have been evacuated from their London home
to the Welsh hills. In an unfamiliar place, among strangers, the
children feel alone and find little comfort with the family they
are billeted with: Mr Evans, a bullying shopkeeper and Auntie Lou,
his kind but timid sister. When Carrie and Nick visit Albert,
another evacuee, they are welcomed into Hepzibah Green's warm
kitchen. Hepzibah is rumoured to be a witch, but her cooking is
delicious, her stories are enthralling and the children cannot keep
away. With Albert, Hepzibah and Mister Johnny, they begin to settle
into their new surroundings. But before long, their loyalties are
tested: will they be persuaded to betray their new friends? This
collection of the best children's literature, curated by Virago,
will be coveted by children and adults alike. These are timeless
tales with beautiful covers, that will be treasured and shared
across the generations. Some titles you will already know; some
will be new to you, but there are stories for everyone to love,
whatever your age. Our list includes Nina Bawden (Carrie's War, The
Peppermint Pig), Rumer Godden (The Dark Horse, An Episode of
Sparrows), Joan Aiken (The Serial Garden, The Gift Giving) E.
Nesbit (The Psammead Trilogy, The Bastable Trilogy, The Railway
Children), Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Little Princess,The Secret
Garden) and Susan Coolidge (The What Katy Did Trilogy). Discover
Virago Children's Classics.
Ben, eleven years old and the youngest of the Mallory children, has
left his aunt and siblings to come to London where his widower
father wishes to introduce him to his young future step-mother.
Unable to return home when his brother and sister become ill, Ben
is left on his own to explore the maze of walled gardens which
surround his new home. Soon he meets Thomas, the son of an exiled
East African Prime Minister, and Lil, a fatherless cockney waif.
All three children, troubled and contending with the dislocation of
their new lives, become entwined in each others' journeys of
self-discovery and adventure. In Nina Bawden's much-praised second
novel for young readers, the lessons and pains of childhood are
evinced with characteristic deftness, combining sympathy, affection
and timeless wit.
'I am an outside child. That is what Plato Jones calls me.' Jane
Tucker is thirteen years old when she discovers she has a
half-brother and sister, a revelation which promises to bring both
excitement and succour to her ordinary life. But obstacles lie in
her path when, for unknown reasons, she is prevented from meeting
them. Aided by her friend Plato, Jane tracks down her brother and
sister to their home in the East End of London. There she finds
still more surprises lie in store for her. Can Jane at last be part
of a 'proper' family, or must she always remain the outside child?
This is the story of a girl and her family and the secrets they
keep from one another. Both funny and poignant, The Outside Child
is a beautifully drawn study of adolescence from one of Britain's
most skilled writers for children.
Determined to find the ex-lodger who stole his grandmother's
savings, Fred McAlpine and his friends Sid, Rosie, Algy and Clio
launch on a series of sleuthing activities to trace the thief.
Unfortunately their detective work leads them nowhere fast and very
soon they decide the best way to track a thief might just be by
acting like one themselves. Resorting to cunning of their own, the
children find their doings attracting the attention of the police.
Can they - a handful of well-meaning thieves - find the criminal
and vindicate themselves in the process? Pacy and suspenseful, A
Handful of Thieves is another vivid and colourful novel from one of
Britain's most inventive children's authors.
Lonely and forlorn after their mother's death and their sudden
arrival at Aunt Mabel's seaside boarding-house, John, Mary and Ben
Mallory are unimpressed with their new life in England. But there
are wonderful surprises in store for them when they discover a
secret way into the grand and empty house next door. Soon all sorts
of unexpected events will unfold as the siblings encounter a whole
host of eccentric characters and happenings. Completed in 1963, The
Secret Passage is Nina Bawden's first children's novel and was
written especially for her own three children after they had
discovered a secret passage in the cellar of their house. It
beautifully reflects her own inquisitive nature - as she herself
has said: 'I was a keyhole child, fearsomely curious' - wedded to
her subtly innovative ability to empathise with the child's view.
One of a series of top-quality fiction for schools. Carrie and her
brother Nick are evacuated to a Welsh mountain village in 1939, and
become closely involved with several memorable characters.
Deeply unhappy at the recent divorce of her parents, Mary is sent
away to live by the sea with her distant grandfather and the
detestable Aunt Alice. Feeling abandoned, without even the company
of her beloved pet cat Noakes, the summer looks set to become one
long stretch of unendurable loneliness. But suddenly she is
dragged, half unwittingly, into a situation that will force her to
come to the aid of others more vulnerable than herself. So begins
her runaway summer, as she sets about helping Simon, the son of a
local policeman, and a young illegal immigrant boy arrived from
Kenya, frightened and all alone. The Runaway Summer was first
published in 1969 to typically universal acclaim. It is, in the
words of the Times Educational Supplement, an 'unputdownable gem of
a book. The tale is beautifully constructed in diamond-hard
language.'
WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY EMMA CARROLL 'A touching, utterly convincing
book' JACQUELINE WILSON 'What a deep, dark, deceptively simple,
brilliant novel it is' EMMA CARROLL 'Poignant and realistic . . .
Carrie's War captures the true reality of war for a child, and it
doesn't sentimentalise war' SHIRLEY HUGHES, GUARDIAN 'I did a
dreadful thing, the worst thing of my life, when I was twelve and a
half years old, and nothing can change it' When the bombs rain down
on London, Carrie and her little brother Nick are evacuated to a
small town in the Welsh hills. Without their mother, and away from
anything familiar, they must take refuge among strangers.
Reluctantly, Mr Evans, the grocer, takes them in, with his kind,
timid sister, Aunt Lou. But the children find little comfort in his
austere home. Their fellow evacuee, Albert, is luckier, living in a
rambling old mansion with Hepzibah Green and Mister Johnny.
Hepzibah is rumoured to be a witch, but the children feel safe in
her warm kitchen and are spellbound by her stories. Just as Carrie
and Nick begin to settle into their new life, something happens
that tests their loyalties: will they be persuaded to betray their
friends? ILLUSTRATED BY ALAN MARKS
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Castle Dor (Paperback, New ed)
Daphne Du Maurier; Introduction by Nina Bawden
1
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R280
R228
Discovery Miles 2 280
Save R52 (19%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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Both a spellbinding love story and a superb evocation of Cornwall's
mythic past, Castle Dor is a book with unique and fascinating
origins. It began life as the unfinished last novel of Sir Arthur
Quiller-Couch, the celebrated 'Q', and was passed by his daughter
to Daphne du Maurier whose storytelling skills were perfectly
suited to the task of completing the old master's tale. The result
is this magical, compelling recreation of the legend of Tristan and
Iseult, transplanted in time to the Cornwall of the last century. A
chance encounter between the Breton onion-seller, Amyot Trestane,
and the newly-wed Linnet Lewarne launches their tragic story,
taking them in the fateful footsteps of the doomed lovers of
Cornish legend . . .
There was a real pig poking its snout out of the milkman's coat
pocket. It was the tiniest pig she had ever seen.' 'What's a
peppermint pig?' Poll asks her mother. Johnnie was only the runt of
the litter. He'd cost Mother a shilling, but somehow his
naughtiness and cleverness kept Poll and her little brother Theo
cheerful, even though it was one of the most difficult years of
their lives. This collection of the best children's literature,
curated by Virago, will be coveted by children and adults alike.
These are timeless tales with beautiful covers, that will be
treasured and shared across the generations. Some titles you will
already know; some will be new to you, but there are stories for
everyone to love, whatever your age. Our list includes Nina Bawden
(Carrie's War, The Peppermint Pig), Rumer Godden (The Dark Horse,
An Episode of Sparrows), Joan Aiken (The Serial Garden, The Gift
Giving) E. Nesbit (The Psammead Trilogy, The Bastable Trilogy, The
Railway Children), Frances Hodgson Burnett (The Little Princess,The
Secret Garden) and Susan Coolidge (The What Katy Did Trilogy).
Discover Virago Children's Classics.
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Keeping Henry (Paperback)
Nina Bawden; Illustrated by Alan Marks
1
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R305
R247
Discovery Miles 2 470
Save R58 (19%)
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Ships in 9 - 15 working days
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'The hay stirred. There was a small nibbling sound. A furry head
poked out. I saw its dark, beady eyes, its sharp, pointed ears
...his eyes seemed alert and inquisitive, as if he were as
interested in us as we were in him' Henry is only three inches long
when naughty Charlie catapults him out of his nest - a poor baby
red squirrel, all ragged and skinny. He is too young to survive
being released into the wild, but can a squirrel be a pet? Henry's
new human family has also had to adapt to a different way of life.
Evacuated from London during the Blitz, to a farm in Wales, they
were upturned from their old life just as Henry was 'tipped out' of
his nest. Can this mischievous little creature, who makes nests out
of their clothes and runs up the children like they are trees, help
them to settle into their new life? A collection that will be
coveted by children and adults alike, this list is the best in
children's literature, curated by Virago. These are timeless tales
with beautiful covers, that will be treasured and shared across the
generations. Some titles you will already know; some will be new to
you, but there are stories for everyone to love, whatever your age.
Our list includes Nina Bawden (Carrie's War, The Peppermint Pig),
Rumer Godden (The Dark Horse, An Episode of Sparrows), Joan Aiken
(The Serial Garden, The Gift Giving) E. Nesbit (The Psammead
Trilogy, The Bastable Trilogy, The Railway Children), L. M.
Montgomery (The Anne of Green Gables series) and Susan Coolidge
(The What Katy Did Trilogy). Discover Virago Children's Classics.
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Carrie's War (Paperback)
Nina Bawden; Adapted by Emma Reeves
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R365
R172
Discovery Miles 1 720
Save R193 (53%)
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Ships in 12 - 17 working days
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Carrie Willow and her brother Nick are evacuees transported to the
safety of the countryside in the 1940s. There they stay with mean
Mr Evans; but there's also kind Auntie Lou, and brilliant young
Albert Sandwich and Mr Johnny, who speaks his own language, and
Hepzibah, the witch at Druid's Grove who makes perfect mince pies.
And then there's the ancient skull with its terrifying curse...
Elizabeth and Richard are on holiday in Morocco, travelling from
its fertile coast to the barren uplands beyond the Atlas mountains.
During the expedition's adventures and mishaps, Elizabeth surveys
her eighteen-year marriage and its accumulations of grievance,
frustration and betrayal. Nina Bawden allows us to see the
ambivalences and deceptions on both sides as this touching and
often subversively comic novel moves towards a shocking catastrophe
and a wryly surprising coda.
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