by Gudrun Bowers | 15, Jul 2022
The captivating second novel from Elizabeth Macneal, author of the best-selling The Doll Factory, set in the colourful circus world of London’s 19th Century pleasure gardens.
Country girl Nell picks violets for a living, in a quiet coastal village. Set apart from her community by the birthmarks that speckle her skin, she finds solace in the sea. But when Jasper Jupiter’s Circus of Wonders arrives in the village, Nell is kidnapped – her father has sold her, promising Jasper Jupiter his very own ‘leopard girl’. It is an agonizing betrayal, but as her fame grows, and she finds friendship with the other performers,she begins to wonder if joining the show is the best thing that has ever happened to her. But what happens when her fame threatens to eclipse that of the showman who bought her? And as she falls in love with Jasper’s gentle brother Toby, can he detach himself from the terrible secret that binds him to his tyrannical brother?
A really enjoyable novel, which vividly evokes 19th Century London, and captivating look into circus life. The novel is at once a tender love story, an exploration of difference & disability, and a rip-roaring good read! For fans of Jessie Burton’s The Miniaturist & Stacy Halls’ The Familiars.
by Gudrun Bowers | 15, Jul 2022
This latest novel by Damon Galgut, shortlisted for the Booker Prize, charts the decline of a white family during South Africa’s transition out of apartheid. The Swarts are gathering for Ma’s funeral. The younger generation, Anton and Amor, detest everything the family stand for — not least the failed promise to the Black woman who has worked for them her whole life. After years of service, Salome was promised her own house, her own land… yet somehow, as each decade passes, that promise remains unfulfilled.
Promise pushes the titular word to its limits, creating a powerful and moving story, which makes use of it’s third person narrative to switch between characters suddenly yet elegantly, emphasising the conflict between them and the resentment they hold.
Encompassing the years 1986 – 20128 in the lives of the Swart family, the omniscient narrator abruptly darts from one character’s consciousness to another shifting from the third to second to first person – creating a challenging but always absorbing read.
by Gudrun Bowers | 14, Jul 2022
A warm-hearted, joyful story about the power of hope and imagination and believing in the impossible.
Marty doesn’t have new white trainers or a games console. He doesn’t have much of his own at all, unlike his mum, who has billions of things: newspapers, holey shoes, rusty lawnmowers, broken picture frames – she keeps EVERYTHING! Marty does his best to look after her and finds solace hanging about with his spritely grandfather, on his allotment. On Marty’s birthday, Grandad, with a glint in his eye, gifts Marty a very special seed. Grandad hasn’t been this excited since he invented the bum scratcher 2000 or thought he’d brewed wonder fuel from rhubarb leaves! The seed grows bigger and bigger, and launches Grandad, Marty and his best friend Gracie on an impossible, wondrous plan fuelled by love, hopes and dreams….
With a touch of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ magic, this sweet story will appeal to 8-11 year-old readers who like Jenny Pearson and Lisa Thompson. Fun fact – this is Caryl Lewis’ first English-language book – she is a multi-award-winning Welsh language novelist and scriptwriter who also wrote the brilliant BBC Wales detective series, Hinterland.
by Gudrun Bowers | 14, Jul 2022
Now out in paperback, this latest novel by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, author of Millions, Sputnik’s Guide to Life on Earth, and many more award-winning children’s books, is complete comedy gold, wrapped up in an exciting story full of mystery and suspense.
Eleven-year-old pipsqueak Noah is famed in his family for making gadgets malfunction. When he accidentally stows away on his older sister’s Geography field trip, the minibus Satnav goes haywire and the kids find themselves marooned on an uninhabited island. 6 kids. 1 remote island. No adults (their teacher has vanished!) They’re hungry. Their phones don’t work – they CAN’T LOOK ANYTHING UP! – and, somehow … Noah has broken the entire internet!! There’s no way of contacting home …. Disaster!
The story is exciting and genuinely believable, the interplay & dialogues between the different teenage characters are pure comic genius, and the recurring theme of our reliance on technology is thought-provoking, and will hopefully spark family discussions. 100% HILARIOUS!
Lively illustrations by Steven Lenton add to the charm. Perfect for readers of 8-11 years.
by Gudrun Bowers | 14, Jul 2022
Since its publication in 1789, Gilbert White’s Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne has never been out of print. Throughout the intervening 233 years, White’s text has inspired the many and varied artists who have illustrated different editions of his classic account of his observations of the wildlife of his home in Selborne, Hampshire.
Simon Martin, director of Pallant House Gallery in Chichester has brought together many of these illustrators in this gorgeously produced and illustrated book. From Samuel Hieronymous Grimm, whose detailed engravings adorned the first edition, to Thomas Bewick, whose famous bird engravings were used without permission in a later one, to twentieth century artists such as Claire Leighton, Agnes Miller Parker, Eric Ravilious, John Nash and John Piper, right through to talented contemporary artists such as Mark Hearld, Alice Patullo and Emily Sutton.
A beautifully produced art book to treasure.
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