|
Showing 1 - 1 of
1 matches in All Departments
A lyrical, evocative and wonderfully original wartime memoir about
life on a farm in the Cotswolds, seen through the eyes of a child.
'Bertie, May and Mrs Fish' is Xandra Bingley's account of her
childhood on a Cotswold farm, set against the backdrop of World War
II and its aftermath. Bingley's mother is left to farm the land,
isolated in the landscape, whilst her husband is away at war. With
its eccentric cast of characters, this book captures both the
essence of a country childhood and the remarkable courage and
resilience displayed by ordinary people during the war. The beauty
and sensitivity of Bingley's observation is artfully balanced by
the harshness and grit of her reality. 'In the cowshed my mother
ties her hair in a topknot scarf that lies on the feedbin lid. At
five-thirty each morning and four o'clock in the afternoons she
chases rats off the mangers. She measures cowcake and rolled oats
and opens the bottom cowshed door. Thirty-one brown and white
Ayrshires and one brindle Jersey tramp into their stalls...' 'Two
thousand acres. A mile of valley. Horses cattle sheep pigs poultry.
Snow above the lintels of the downstairs windows. Her fingers
swelling. Chilblains. Her long white kid gloves wrapped around a
leaky pipe in her bedroom. Knotted at the fingers. She has a lot to
learn and no one to teach her. Accidents happen.' Bingley tells her
tale in a startling voice which captures the universe of a child,
the unforgiving landscape and the complicated adult world
surrounding her. Her acute observation, and her gift for place,
people, sound and touch make this a brilliantly authentic and
evocative portrait.
|
|
Email address subscribed successfully.
A activation email has been sent to you.
Please click the link in that email to activate your subscription.