by Doris Gawrys (2010)
"Doris Gawrys has such fond memories of her childhood home that she dedicates this memoir to the house 'Pengelly' in Rayleigh, Essex. With its white roses by the door, working well and dragonfly ponds, Pengelly was a playground for Doris, her cousin Mollie and brother Bobby, who was born in the house . Though still very young when the family moved again, she has never forgotten those days."--Publisher description.
Nanny Pat
Nanny Pat has always been the heart of her family, and her children and grandchildren regularly pitch up at her house for a cup of tea, a slice of her famous sausage plait and some wise advice. Now, with her trademark warmth and humour, she evokes the colourful East End world of her childhood.
Bruce Edward Hall
Bruce Edward Hall may have an English name and a Connecticut upbringing, but for him a trip to Chinatown, New York, is a visit to the ghosts of his Chinese ancestors - ancestors who helped create the neighborhood that is really as much a transplanted Cantonese village as it is a part of a great American city. Among these Ancestors are missionaries and reprobates, businessmen and scholars. In Tea That Burns, Bruce Edward Hall uses the stories of these and others to tell the history of Chinatown, starting with the tumultuous journey from an ancient empire ruled by the nine dragons of the universe to a bewildering land of elevated trains, solitary labor, and violent discrimination. The world they constructed was built of backbreaking labor and poetry contests; gambling dens and Cantonese opera; Tong Wars, festivals, firecrackers, incense, and food - always food, to celebrate every conceivable occasion and to confound the ever-meddlesome "White Devils" as they attempt to master the mysteries of chop sticks and stir-fry.
Keith Skipper
One of Norfolk's best-known humorists and broadcasters, Keith Skipper provides memories of his post-war childhood in Norfolk, and the country in general in the 1950s. 36 separate pieces are featured, three for each month of the year.
Lauren St John
In 1978, in the final, bloodiest phase of the Rhodesian civil war, 11-year-old Lauren St John moves with her family to Rainbow's End, a wild, beautiful farm and game reserve set on the banks of a slowflowing river. The house has been the scene of a horrific attack by guerrillas, and when Lauren's family settles there, a chain of events is set in motion that will change her life irrevocably. This memoir captures the beauty and danger of life in the African bush. At the height of the war, Lauren rides through the wilderness on her horse, Morning Star, encountering lions, crocodiles, snakes, vicious ostriches, and mad cows. The constant threat of ruthless guerrillas prowling the land underscores everything, making each day more dangerous, vivid, and prized than the last.--From publisher description.