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 the Second World War and its aftermath. Bingley's mother is left to farm the land whilst her husband is away at war, isolated in the landscape. 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. 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 emotional, sensual descriptive gift for place, people, sound, and touch make this a brilliantly authentic and evocative portrait.

Paperback, 2005, 227pages, good conditon