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In this memoir of his childhood in England during the Second World War,
author Rodney Hall uses a little boy's point of view to tell the story
of a time that changed the world. A time that not only changed the
world, but one that would put into train events that were to shape
Rodney's life.
Rodney's father died when he was six months old, before the War began.
His mother, finding herself out of work and responsible for three
children, takes a job as a clerk in the Ministry of Food. At night she
tells stories of 'home', the farm her family once owned at Kangaroo
Valley in Australia. For Rodney this fabled place became his hope of
escape from the bombing. The imagined Australia of 'home', plus the
absence of a father in his life, underlie a charmed world in which
three children are free to roam the streets and the surrounding woods
while the war rages across Europe.
This is a rare and touching memoir. The voice of the young Rodney, the
innocence with which he surveys the world and his impressions of what
is going on around him, the wonderful character of his mother, her
bravery and stoicism, and the many charming and lovely stories - all
these combine to make this an extraordinary book that readers will fall
in love with.
Author Biography
Rodney Hall was born at Solihull, Warwickshire, in England. He came to
Australia as a child and, as a result of the enchantment of embarking
on that six-week voyage by sea, he suffers from a lifelong addiction to
travel. After leaving school in Brisbane at 16 he worked professionally
as a musician and for a while as an actor, but since 1961 he has lived
by his writing, being the author of over thirty books and countless
articles. He has won the Miles Franklin Award twice and many of his
novels and poems have been published internationally. He lives in
Melbourne.
