Bertie, May and Mrs Fish
Subtitle: country memories of wartime
By: Xandra Bingley
Edition: Large print ed.
Publisher: Charnwood
Published: 2006
Place of publication: Leicester
Language: eng
Number of pages: 207
ISBN-13: 9781846173820
Subjects: Childhood and youth; Rural women; Biography; Farm life; World War, 1939-1945; Large type books; Social life and customs; Manners and customs
Description: A lyrical, evocative and wonderfully original wartime memoir about life on a farm in the Cotswolds, seen through the eyes of a child. Bertie, May & 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 while her husband is away at war. 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.
Notes: Originally published: London: HarperCollins, 2005.