Overview

An English village childhood memoir recalling a single year in Candida Lycett Green's early years in the bohemian Betjeman household. 1949- one year in the childhood of Candida Lycett Green in the remote village of Farnborough in Berkshire. Here she lives with her father John Betjeman and her mother Penelope Chetwode, in one of the bleakest and highest spots on the windswept downland.Candida runs wild with the 'gang' of village children. Stimulated by regular excursions to the cinema in Wantage, Candida and her best friend June became fascinated by the idea of love. Their romantic imagination is fuelled by the beautiful Ruby Mason, who cleans the cottage of a reclusive scientist, Dr Fox, employed at the neighbouring Harwell Atomic Research Centre. They stealthily engineer a romance between the two - until it is revealed that none of the children's special adult friends are what they seem, and the real world shockingly intervenes to overturn their innocence.

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9781784163747

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Reviews

Evokes the world of her childhood with exceptional clarity, tenderness and precision. * Sunday Telegraph * A sort of Cider with Rosie . . . her writing oozes nostalgia, affection and a passion for the English countryside. * Daily Mail * Without the slightest sentimentality, this magical book describes what was lost: a closeness to the natural world, a life tied to the seasons, and memories of incredible richness and texture. * Evening Standard * Enchanting memoir . . . Lycett Green makes the beautiful countryside throughout the seasons as real as the robust villagers. * Sunday Times * Executed with accomplishment and brio. Lycett Green may be practised, but there's a delightful freshness here, along with humour, empathy and an unexpected sense of menace. * Daily Telegraph *

Author Information

Candida Lycett Green was the author of over a dozen books including Over the Hills and Far Away, The Dangerous Edge of Things,English Cottages, Goodbye London, and The Garden at Highgrove (with the Prince of Wales). She edited and introduced her father John Betjeman's letters and prose, and wrote and presented The Front Garden and The Englishwoman and the Horse for the BBC. She died in August 2014.

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