Strange country

Buy Death in a Strange Country: Donna Leon (Paperback) for R35.00

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 7 - 15 working days Features Author Charles Curtis Publisher Month9books Release date 20150801 Pages 300 ISBN 1-942664-35-4 ISBN 13 978-1-942664-35-2

Author: Albie Sachs Publisher: Oxford University Press (2009) ISBN-10: 0199571791 ISBN-13: 9780199571796 Condition: Very Good. Light wear to edges of the dust jacket.  Else a very good copy. Binding: Hardcover with dust jacket Pages: 306 Dimensions: 22.1 x 14.4 x 2 cm +++ by Albie Sachs (With Author's Inscription) +++ From a young age Albie Sachs played a prominent part in the struggle for justice in South Africa. As a result he was detained in solitary confinement, tortured by sleep deprivation and eventually blown up by a car bomb which cost him his right arm and the sight of an eye. His experiences provoked an outpouring of creative thought on the role of law as a protector of human dignity in the modern world, and a lifelong commitment to seeing a new era of justice established in South Africa. After playing an important part in drafting South Africa's post-apartheid Constitution, he was appointed by Nelson Mandela to be a member of the country's first Constitutional Court. Over the course of his fifteen year term on the Court he has grappled with the major issues confronting modern South Africa, and the challenges posed to the fledgling democracy as it sought to overcome the injustices of the apartheid regime. The book provides unique access to an insider's perspective on modern South Africa, and a rare glimpse into the working of a judicial mind. By juxtaposing life experiences and extracts from judgments, Sachs enables the reader to see the complex and surprising ways in which legal culture transforms subjective experience into objectively reasoned decisions. With rare candour he tells of the difficulties he has when preparing a judgment, of how every judgment is a lie. Rejecting purely formal notions of the judicial role he shows how both reason and passion (concern for protecting human dignity) are required for law to work in the service of justice.

Anya Gordon is the most envied woman in the country. A successful couturier to the elite of Sydney, she reigns supreme with her adoring husband, Joe, by her side. Finally she can escape the past - a past haunted by the ravages of war and the struggle to build a new life in a strange country. But behind the glamour lies a lies a lost dream, and a secret that could destroy all that Anya has fought so hard to achieve....

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 6 - 13 working days A heart-warming and humorous animal series by Holly Webb, with gorgeous illustrations throughout. Sophie isn't happy about moving to a strange new country and starting at a new school. But then she meets Josephine - a macaroon-eating, tutu-wearing guinea pig, who lives with her furry friends in the centre of Paris. Josephine soon shows Sophie that living in a new place is exciting and being friends with a guinea pig is the best adventure of all. Features Summary A heart-warming and humorous animal series by bestselling author, Holly Webb. Sophie isn't happy about moving to a strange new country. But then she meets Josephine - a macaroon-eating... Author Holly Webb (Author), Clare Elsom (Illustrator) Publisher Scholastic Press Release date 20160804 Pages 112 ISBN 1-4071-5432-X ISBN 13 978-1-4071-5432-9

A CRUE OF ICE G JENKINS AIRSHIPS & BALLOONS MILLER AMERICAN DREAMS: LOST AND FOUND TERKEL ATLAS OF THE WORLD AUGE - CALIFORNIA BBQ COOKBOOK BROCA'S BRAIN SAGAN CANADA CEPHANLONA CHARIOTS FOR THE GODS VON DANIKEN CONCISE ILLUSTRATED SA ENCYCLOPEDIA DON’T QUOTE ME ATEO/GREEN DOOMSDAY BERLITZ EAGLE DAY RICHARD COLLIER EGYPT TRAVEL GUIDE ENCYCLOPEDIA ATLAS OF THE WORLD FACTS ABOUT FINLAND FINGER LIKEN BBQ BUTEL FINLAND IN COLOUR FUNDAMENTALS OF REMOTE SENSING & AIRPHOTO INTERPRETATION HAWAIIS ENCHANTED ISLANDS HELSINKI HISTORY OF WESTERN PHYLOSOPHY ICE STATION ZEBRA A MACLEAN INVITATION TO A HOLOCAUST R NOORBERGEN LIFE ON EARTH ATTENBOROUGH MASSACRE AT FALAUSE M HOLDEN MY FRIENDS ARE DYING COMFORT NIAGARA OAHA TRIP MAP OXFORD ATLAS OXFORD DICTIONARY READERS DIGEST ATLAS OF THE WORLD SPACE ODYSSEY SILVERBURG STARS & PLANETS OF THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE STRANGE PEOPLE F.EDWARDS THE COUNTRY OF THE MIND D.MORGAN THE HOT ZONE PRESTON THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND GILES FOOLEN THE SHEPHERD THE WOMENS ROOM FRENCH THE WORLDS GREATEST MYSTERIES N BLUNDELL THE WORLDS WORST AIRCRAFT GILBERT TOUCH A WORLD THROUGH PRAYER DUEL TRAVEL MAGAZINES IN ROPE X 2 VIDEOHOUNDS GOLDEN MOVIE RETRIEVER WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE WITHOUT A TRACE BERLITZ EXPLORER – PARIS

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 7 - 11 working days A story of the land, friendship and of secret lives. When Rene Hargreaves is billeted to Starlight Farm as a Land Girl, far from the city where she grew up, she finds farmer Elsie Boston and her country ways strange at first. Yet over the days and months Rene and Elsie come to understand and depend on each other. Soon they can no longer imagine a life apart. But a visitor from Rene's past threatens the life they have built together, a life that has always kept others at a careful distance. Soon they are involved in a war of their own that endangers everything and will finally expose them to the nation's press and the full force of the law. Features Summary A story of the land, friendship and of secret lives. When Rene Hargreaves is billeted to Starlight Farm as a Land Girl, far from the city where she grew up... Author Rachel Malik Publisher Fig Tree Release date 20170422 Pages 288 ISBN 0-241-24963-5 ISBN 13 978-0-241-24963-5

Splendid and sumptuous historical novel from the internationally bestselling author, Philippa Gregory, telling of the early life of Katherine of Aragon. We think of Katherine of Aragon as the barren wife of a notorious king; but behind this legacy lies a fascinating story. Katherine of Aragon is born Catalina, the Spanish Infanta, to parents who are both rulers and warriors. Aged four, she is betrothed to Arthur, Prince of Wales, and is raised to be Queen of England. She is never in doubt that it is her destiny to rule that far-off, wet, cold land. Her faith is tested when her prospective father-in-law greets her arrival in her new country with a great insult; Arthur seems little better than a boy; the food is strange and the customs coarse. Slowly she adapts to the first Tudor court, and life as Arthur's wife grows ever more bearable. But when the studious young man dies, she is left to make her own future: how can she now be queen, and found a dynasty? Only by marrying Arthur's young brother, the sunny but spoilt Henry. His father and grandmother are against it; her powerful parents prove little use. Yet Katherine is her mother's daughter and her fighting spirit is strong. She will do anything to achieve her aim; even if it means telling the greatest lie, and holding to it. Philippa Gregory proves yet again that behind the apparently familiar face of history lies an astonishing story: of women warriors influencing the future of Europe, of revered heroes making deep mistakes, and of an untold love story which changes the fate of a nation.

AUTHOR TITLE   COVER CONDITION 1ST EDT COUNTRY PUBLISHER YEAR Innes, Hammond Air Bridge 1 Very Good Yes Britain Collins 1951 Innes, Hammond Atlantic Fury 1 Very Good Yes Britain Collins 1962 Innes, Hammond Campbell's Kingdom 1 Very Good Yes Britain Collins 1952 Innes, Hammond Delta Connection 1 Excellent Yes Britain MacMillan 1996 Innes, Hammond Golden Soak 1 Excellent Yes Britain Collins 1973 Innes, Hammond High Stand 1 Excellent Yes Britain Collins 1985 Innes, Hammond Isvik 1 Very Good Yes Britain Chapmans Publishers Ltd 1991 Innes, Hammond Levkas Man 1 Very Good Yes Britain Collins 1971 Innes, Hammond Medusa 1 Excellent Yes Britain Collins 1988 Innes, Hammond North Star 1 Very Good Yes Britain Collins 1974 Innes, Hammond Sea and Islands 1 Very Good Yes Britain Collins 1967 Innes, Hammond Soloman's Seal 1 Very Good Yes Britain Collins 1980 Innes, Hammond Target Antartica 1 Very Good Yes Britain Chapmans Publishers Ltd 1993 Innes, Hammond The Angry Mountain 1 Good Yes Britain Collins 1950 Innes, Hammond The Big Footprints 1 Excellent Yes Britain Collins 1977 Innes, Hammond The Black Tide 1 Excellent Yes Britain Collins 1982 Innes, Hammond The Blue Ice 1 Very Good No Britain Collins 1972 Innes, Hammond The Doomed Oasis 1 Very Good Yes Britain Collins 1960 Innes, Hammond The Land God Gave to Cain 1 Very Good No Britain Companion Book Club 1958 Innes, Hammond The Mary Deare 1 Very Good Yes Britain Collins 1956 Innes, Hammond The Strange Land 1 Excellent Yes Britain Collins 1954 Innes, Hammond The Strode Venturer 1 Good Yes Britain Collins 1965 Innes, Hammond The White South 1 Very Good No Britain Collins 1949

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 7 - 15 working days The first caravans arrive in a convoy. Our narrator is one of the artists removed from his home, given a new place to live and the chance to "give back to society." In his strange new community, housed on a footy oval in a faraway country town, he is given his writing task... Features Summary The first caravans arrive in a convoy. Our narrator is one of the artists removed from his home, given a new place to live and the chance to "give back to society... Author Wayne Macauley Publisher The Text Publishing Company Release date 20120725 Pages 224 ISBN 1-922079-12-X ISBN 13 978-1-922079-12-1

Hard cover with dust cover; 189 pages. Very good condition. Under 1kg.   'At the age of nineteen he married Ann Maw and two years later he was ordained as a Methodist minister and appointed chaplain to Sephton's party, and came with his wife and baby daughter on the Aurora to South Africa under the British Settler scheme of 1820. For most young men so great a responsibility in a strange and hostile country would have been overwhelming, but in the words of his friend, William Boyce, "though young in years. he was never, strictly speaking, a young man." This account of the life and work of the Rev. William Shaw has been compiled of extracts from his letters and journals. It provides a vivid, first hand account of the conditions in which the settlers found themselves in the land of their adoption, and it tells of Shaw's meeting with the Dutch Trekkers, the African tribesmen, the government officials, the slaves, the Hottentots and the many other peoples in this broad corner of the continent. The events in themselves might be of interest, but it is the character and personality of Shaw himself which illuminates the record for he brought to everything he did a sober judgement, a human warmth, and an invincible faith in God's providence.'     

The Crocodile Bird by Ruth Rendell (1994) When her mother, Eve, tells Liza that she must leave their remote home, the gatehouse of a country mansion, Liza is terrified. Although seventeen years of age, she has never been on a bus or a train, has never played with a child of her own age. She has almost no knowledge of a world described by her mother as evil and destructive. Their strange, enclosed life together is over because Eve has killed a man. And he is not the first. With -100 in cash, Liza is cast aside. However, she is not alone. There is one particular secret she has kept from her mother - her love affair with a young man who worked in the big house. With him, gradually Liza learns about the world, about herself, and must come to terms with the possibility that the murderous violence of her mother may be present in her. 368 p. 11 cm

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 7 - 11 working days Looking for trivia books filled with fun facts and trivia questions and answers? Answers to Questions You've Never Asked will entertain you for hours Fun facts for kids of all ages: When you take the most absurd parts of history, science, economics and geography, you end up with a pretty confusing picture of humanity. Why do we have borders, what's the furthest you can get from the ocean, how do you qualify as a country and why did Vikings wear those silly helmets? These are just a few of the strange questions that bounce around the head of YouTube sensation Joseph Pisenti, aka Real Life Lore. Trivia questions and answers: In his channel, Pisenti presents illogical truths in a logical manner. In his debut book, Pisenti builds on this nonsensical humor of the universe with in-depth analysis of empires, economies, and ecosystems as he helps answer the ridiculous. Why, you ask? Because someone has to. Using line drawings, graphs and charts, Pisenti not only details the absurd, but he also provides explanations on why things are...and why they aren't. Answers to: - Where can I move to so that I'm never tempted by McDonalds again? - How far into the Pacific does Trump's wall stretch? - If Plato came back to life, what would he think of modern democracy? - Why do all empires fail? - Who decides what countries are allowed to participate in the Olympics? - What makes Finland so great? Witty, thought-provoking and occasionally snarky, Answers to Questions You've Never Asked is for anyone who beams with curiosity and has a belly-button. Features Summary YouTube's fastest-growing education and humor based channel. Real Life Lore goes from the screen to the pages with even more research, trivia, bizarre and true stories and fascinating facts than ever before. Author Joseph Pisenti Publisher Mango Media Inc Release date 20170905 Pages 213 ISBN 1-63353-669-6 ISBN 13 978-1-63353-669-2

 A white-hand gibbon named Koko who came from Thailand became so enchanting a member of the author's household zoo in Frankfurt that it set him daydreaming of the strange, remote world of it's origin until the longing to visit the tropical wonders of south-east Asia became irresistible.  So he sailed for Rangoon, where he promised the zoo a black panther from Siam.  He fell in love with Thailand, tranquil, gracious, a country with time for talk and the telling of splendid stories. Hard cover, fair condition.  The dust jacket shows signs of wear.  The book is clean. Paper browning.  214 pages.

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 8 - 13 working days 'The superb, funny, fascinating story of Lenin's trans-European rail journey and how it shook the world' Simon Sebag Montefiore, Evening Standard, Books of the Year'Splendid... a jewel among histories, taking a single episode from the penultimate year of the Great War, illuminating a continent, a revolution and a series of psychologies in a moment of cataclysm and doing it with wit, judgment and an eye for telling detail' David Aaronovitch, The TimesBy 1917 the European war seemed to be endless. Both sides in the fighting looked to new weapons, tactics and ideas to break a stalemate that was itself destroying Europe. In the German government a small group of men had a brilliant idea: why not sow further confusion in an increasingly chaotic Russia by arranging for Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, the most notorious of revolutionary extremists, currently safely bottled up in neutral Switzerland, to go home?Catherine Merridale's Lenin on the Train recreates Lenin's extraordinary journey from harmless exile in Zurich, across a Germany falling to pieces from the war's deprivations, and northwards to the edge of Lapland to his eventual ecstatic reception by the revolutionary crowds at Petrograd's Finland Station.With great skill and insight Merridale weaves the story of the train and its uniquely strange group of passengers with a gripping account of the now half-forgotten liberal Russian revolution and shows how these events intersected. She brilliantly uses a huge range of contemporary eyewitnesses, observing Lenin as he travelled back to a country he had not seen for many years. Many thought he was a mere 'useful idiot', others thought he would rapidly be imprisoned or killed, others that Lenin had in practice few followers and even less influence. They would all prove to be quite wrong. Features Summary 'The superb, funny, fascinating story of Lenin's trans-European rail journey and how it shook the world' Simon Sebag Montefiore, Evening Standard, Books of the Year'Splendid... Author Catherine Merridale Publisher Penguin Books Release date 20170503 Pages 368 ISBN 0-14-197994-1 ISBN 13 978-0-14-197994-6

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 4 - 10 working days In 2001, in Unfinished Business: South Africa, Apartheid and Truth, Dumisa Ntsebeza and Terry Bell complained that 'like so much of South Africa's recent brutal history, we shall probably never know exactly how many people were banished and what happened to all of them'. Saleem Badat's The Forgotten People: Political Banishment under Apartheid answers many questions about banishment and shines a bright and welcome light on a largely hidden and unknown aspect of our indeed 'brutal history'. It shows how apartheid's political opponents from rural areas were condemned to the living hell of banishment: a weapon used to expel rural opponents to distant and often arid and desolate places for unlimited periods. These rural opponents were plucked from their families and communities and cast, in the late Helen Joseph's words, 'into the most abandoned parts of the country, there to live, perhaps to die, to suffer and starve, or to stretch out a survival by poorly paid labour, if and when they could get it'. They were strangers in strange areas who could not speak the local language, and often had little in common with the locals and even less in common with those under whose surveillance they fell. This is the first study of an important but hitherto neglected group of opponents of apartheid set in a global, historical and comparative perspective. It looks at the reasons why people were banished, their lives in banishment and the efforts of a remarkable group of activists, led by Helen Joseph, to assist them. Indeed, this book originated in a promise made by the author to Helen Joseph, who had undertaken an epic journey in 1962 to visit all those banished across the length and breadth of South Africa. The work is illustrated with stunning photographs by Ernest Cole, Peter Magubane and others. Features Summary In 2001, in Unfinished Business: South Africa, Apartheid and Truth, Dumisa Ntsebeza and Terry Bell complained that 'like so much of South Africa's recent brutal history... Author Saleem Badat Publisher Jacana Media Release date 20120930 Pages 352 ISBN 1-4314-0479-9 ISBN 13 978-1-4314-0479-7

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 7 - 12 working days Some lies can't be forgiven... Don't miss this startling second book in a breathtaking new trilogy from Teri Terry, queen of the teen thriller and author of the bestselling SLATED trilogy. An epidemic is sweeping the country. You are among the infected. There is no cure, and you cannot be permitted to infect others. You are now under quarantine. The 5% of the infected who survive are dangerous and will be taken into the custody of the army. As the epidemic spreads, survivors are being hunted like witches, for the authorities fear their strange new powers. Kai is desperate to trace Shay, who tricked him and disappeared. Meanwhile, Shay is searching for the truth behind the origins of the epidemic... but danger finds them wherever they go. Can they outrun the fire? From the author of the international sensation Slated comes the second book in a powerful new story of survival and transformation; love and power. Features Summary Some things can't be cured, can't be stopped, can't die... Don't miss this startling second book in a breathtaking new trilogy from Teri Terry, queen of the teen thriller and author of the bestselling SLATED trilogy. Author Teri Terry Publisher Orchard Books Release date 20171010 Pages 448 ISBN 1-4083-4174-3 ISBN 13 978-1-4083-4174-2

Lines may divide us, but hope will unite us...Nine-year-old Bruno knows nothing of the Final Solution and the Holocaust. He is oblivious to the appalling cruelties being inflicted on the people of Europe by his country. All he knows is that he has been moved from a comfortable home in Berlin to a house in a desolate area where there is nothing to do and no one to play with. Until he meets Shmuel, a boy who lives a strange parallel existence on the other side of the adjoining wire fence and who, like the other people there, wears a uniform of striped pyjamas. Bruno's friendship with Shmuel will take him from innocence to revelation. And in exploring what he is unwittingly a part of, he will inevitably become subsumed by the terrible process. Format:Paperback Pages:0

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 7 - 12 working days 40th anniversary edition of Richard Adams' picaresque saga about a motley band of rabbits - Watership Down is one of the most beloved novels of our time. Sandleford Warren is in danger. Hazel's younger brother Fiver is convinced that a great evil is about to befall the land, but no one will listen. And why would they when it is Spring and the grass is fat and succulent? So together Hazel and Fiver and a few other brave rabbits secretly leave behind the safety and strictures of the warren and hop tentatively out into a vast and strange world. Chased by their former friends, hunted by dogs and foxes, avoiding farms and other human threats, but making new friends, Hazel and his fellow rabbits dream of a new life in the emerald embrace of Watership Down... 'A gripping story of rebellion in a rabbit warren and the subsequent adventures of the rebels. Adams has a poetic eye and a gift for storytelling which will speak to readers of all ages for many years to come' Sunday Times 'A masterpiece. The best story about wild animals since The Wind in the Willows. Very funny, exciting, often moving' Evening Standard 'A great book. A whole world is created, perfectly real in itself, yet constituting a deep incidental comment on human affairs' Guardian Richard Adams grew up in Berkshire, the son of a country doctor. After an education at Oxford, he spent six years in the army and then went into the Civil Service. He originally began telling the story of Watership Down to his two daughters and they insisted he publish it as a book. It quickly became a huge success with both children and adults, and won the Guardian Children's Fiction Award and the Carnegie Medal in 1972. Richard Adams has written many novels and short stories, including Shardik and The Plague Dogs. Features Summary Sandleford Warren is in danger. Hazel's younger brother Fiver is convinced that a great evil is about to befall the land, but no one will listen. And why would they when it is Spring and the grass is fat and succulent? Author Richard Adams Publisher Penguin Books Release date 20121004 Pages 472 ISBN 0-241-95323-5 ISBN 13 978-0-241-95323-5

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 7 - 11 working days Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of the powerful businessman Mr. Hosokawa. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening -- until a band of gunwielding terrorists takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves into something quite different, a moment of great beauty, as terrorists and hostages forge unexpected bonds and people from different continents become compatriots, intimate friends, and lovers. Features Summary "A strange, terrific, spellcasting story" ("San Francisco Chronicle"), "Bel Canto" engenders in the reader the very passion for art and the language of music that its characters discover.. Author Ann Patchett Publisher HarperCollinsPublishers Release date 20050802 Pages 317 ISBN 0-06-083872-8 ISBN 13 978-0-06-083872-0

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 7 - 12 working days The extraordinary new novel from the Nobel Prize-winning author of Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day The Romans have long since departed, and Britain is steadily declining into ruin. But at least the wars that once ravaged the country have ceased. The Buried Giant begins as a couple, Axl and Beatrice, set off across a troubled land of mist and rain in the hope of finding a son they have not seen for years. They expect to face many hazards - some strange and other-worldly - but they cannot yet foresee how their journey will reveal to them dark and forgotten corners of their love for one another. Sometimes savage, often intensely moving, Kazuo Ishiguro's first novel in a decade is about lost memories, love, revenge and war. Features Summary The extraordinary new novel from the Nobel Prize-winning author of Never Let Me Go and The Remains of the Day The Romans have long since departed, and Britain is steadily declining into ruin. Author Kazuo Ishiguro Publisher Faber and Faber Release date 20160128 Pages 362 ISBN 0-571-31507-0 ISBN 13 978-0-571-31507-9

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 7 - 12 working days Merci Rayborn is a detective with a troubled past: her previous partner died protecting her from an insane killer before he even knew she was carrying his child. Two years later she has finally begun to pull her life back together and has started seeing fellow officer Mike Mcnally. They are the force's golden couple — both children of retired cops and highly competent officers in their own right. But this tentative happiness is shattered when a young prostitue is found brutally murdered, and Mcnally emerges as the prime suspect. Merci is the lead investigator on the case, and must do the unthinkable — epose and arrest her lover. With her world turned upside down, Merci has to balance her emotions against where the truth leads her. But the truth is taking her down some very strange alleyways — from present-day Orange Country to late sixties California, and the unsolved murder of another prostitute. "A sweaty palm roller-coaster of a hard-nosed police procedural." MYLES MCWEENEY, IRISH INDEPENDENT Intricate and convincing… with a clever final revelation. GERALD KAUFMAN, SCOTSMAN Features Summary `Parker has only one competitor - Thomas Harris' Washington Post... At once horrifying, tense and lyrical, The Blue Hour is a beautifully written novel that probes the darkest recesses of the human psyche. Author Jefferson Parker Publisher HarperCollinsPublishers Release date 20010806 Pages 432 ISBN 0-00-710193-7 ISBN 13 978-0-00-710193-1

 A reign of terror begins for Alfred and Emma Munday when they take their failing marriage to the solace of an old country house. There, in the peace and quiet of the Dorset countryside, a strange and beautiful apparition enters their life, disrupts it...creates a fatal triangle of fear, fantasy and eroticism. Soft cover, good condition.  

This item is sold brand new. It is ordered on demand from our supplier and is usually dispatched within 7 - 12 working days A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR. 'Matthew Dennison skilfully covers the facts, producing a vivid impression of this strange, shy, awkward figure. The result is a highly readable book' Literary Review. 'A haunting new biography... A compelling account of Grahame's life' Daily Mail. 'A sensitively probing and nuanced portrait that makes sense of the darker character furled in the dreamer' New Statesman. During the week Kenneth Grahame sat behind a mahogany desk as Secretary of the Bank of England; at the weekend he retired to the house in the country he shared with his fanciful wife Elspeth and fragile son Alistair and took lengthy walks along the Thames in Berkshire, 'tempted [by] the treasures of hedge and ditch; the rapt surprise of the first lords-and-ladies, the rustle of a field-mouse, the splash of a frog.' The result of these pastoral wanderings was The Wind in the Willows: an enduring classic of children's literature; a cautionary tale for adult readers; a warning of the fragility of the English countryside; and an expression of fear at threatened social changes that, in the aftermath of the World War I, became reality. Like its remarkable author, it balances maverick tendencies with conservatism. Grahame was an Edwardian pantheist whose work has a timeless appeal, an escapist whose withdrawal from reality took the form of time travel into his own past. Features Summary The story of Kenneth Grahame, author of the children's classic Wind in the Willows, and of the vision of English pastoral that inspired it. Author Matthew Dennison Publisher Head of Zeus Release date 20190808 Pages 304 ISBN 1-78669-774-2 ISBN 13 978-1-78669-774-5