A compelling tale of 'poverty, social injustice, Empire and migration', the book tells the story of Carmen Callil's family, tracing back their origins to the Midlands in the early 19th century. Uncovering the journey of Sary, her great-great-grandmother, a poor stocking frame worker, and George, a canal worker and father of one of her children convicted for stealing a piece of hemp and sent to Australia, Callil brings to life the past and draws important parallels with the present.
Recommendation
Recommendations from
Hilary Mantel
Hilary Mantel is a British author and a prolific writer. Her first book, Every Day is Mother’s Day, was published in 1985, shortly before her return to England after years spent living with her husband in Botswana and Saudi Arabia. Subsequently, she became a film critic for The Spectator (1987-1991) and a reviewer for papers and magazines in the UK and United States. Her books were received with critical acclaim, and she was awarded the Booker Prize in 2009 for her novel Wolf Hall and in 2012 for the novel Bring Up the Bodies, becoming the first woman to receive the prestigious award twice.
1
Oh Happy Day
By Carmen Callil
"Carmen Callil's ancestors arrived in Australia on emigrant ships and convict transports, forced from their homeland by destitution or the penal code. In Oh Happy Day she uncovers their story, her research impelled by wonder and indignation that lights up every page. It's fierce, personal, revelatory history." -
2
Island Dreams
By Gavin Francis
"Island Dreams by Gavin Francis is a beautiful book from an original mind: it explored the place of islands in our psyche, and its glowing illustrations make it an ideal present for anyone who has missed travelling this year." -
Described as 'a simple but sincere cartography of my own obsession with the twinned but opposing allures of island and city, of isolation and connection', Island Dreams explores the appeal of islands in our consciousness by recounting some of the author's own travels and some popular voyages from literature.
3
The Haunting Of Alma Fielding
By Kate Summerscale
"We all need a winter ghost story: in The Haunting of Alma Fielding, Kate Summerscale investigates the plague of poltergeists that broke over England just before World War II. It's a sombre, thoughtful book, full of insight into material darker than you might imagine." -
Alma Fielding is an ordinary housewife in 1938 London, who finds herself suddenly haunted. Nandor Fodor is a Jewish-Hungarian refugee and chief ghost hunter for the International Institute for Psychical Research, who, intrigued by the case, begins to investigate. What he uncovers is not what he was expecting... Kate Summerscale digs into historical archives to craft a tale of modern haunting.