- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc USA; New impression edition (1 April 1962)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140017151
- ISBN-13: 978-0140017151
- Product Dimensions: 18 x 10.9 x 1.5 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
549,756 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #58 in Books > Travel & Holiday > Countries & Regions > Africa > Kenya
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More About the Author
Product Description
Synopsis
The author recounts her life and adventures as a young girl on a farm in Kenya.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
THE FLAME TREES OF THIKA 1959,
By
This review is from: The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood (Hardcover)
This small book of 285 pages,first published in 1959 (2000), has no maps and no photos, takes us back to the start of Kenya, where kikuyu were yet unaffected by the Europeans. ELSPETH JOSCELIN HUXLEY (CBE -1962) was born on 23.7.1907. Her parents arrived in THIKA, British East Africa (KENYA) in 1912, to start a coffee farm. She was educated in a white school in NAIROBI. She left Africa in 1925, but returned periodically. She married GERVAS HUXLEY in 1931. She wrote 30 books. She died in a nursing home at the age of 89 on 10.1.1997 at Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England. Elspeth parents buy a land from Nairobi and set up their home there. They gradually shape the farm. Men and women kikuyu and some masai come to work for them. The have cattle and plant coffee. More Europeans come and settle and even Thika prospers.
As a child Elspeth, sees the culture of the natives. Then comes the 1st world war. Farms close and life of the settlers is disrupted. Excellent book, very readable and also enjoy the sequel called " The Mottled Lizard ". 'Flame trees of Thika' is also available as 2 disc DVD 1981 (2005) with Hayley Mills, David Robb, Holly Aird , Ben Cross and Sharon Mughan. Some say it is slow, but I found it just right, for the story and the times. Some of the author's other books are:- (1) White Man's Country, 2 Volumes 1935 (1980) (2) Murder on Safari, 1938 (2002) (3) Red Strangers 1939 (2009) (4) The Mottled Lizard 1962 (1999) (5) With Fork and Hope 1964 (6) Livingstone 1974 (7) Out in the Midday Sun, My Kenya 1985 (2000) Having born in Kenya, I enjoyed reading this book. Read and ENJOY.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Deserves to remain a classic,
By
This review is from: The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics) (Paperback)
I would strongly recommend this book, since it is:A valuable historical record (albeit fictionalised) of the life of a group of white settlers in early 20th-Century Kenya, full of everyday details but also capturing the Europeans' perceptions of the indigenous peoples and the range of their attitudes towards them. Although some of the generalisations about the customs and value systems of the Kikuyu are unreliable, the young narrator is not judgemental; she sees every individual as a human being. An extraordinarily sensitive portrayal of the world of adults (with all their follies and weaknesses) seen through the eyes of a child. A fine piece of writing, with an easy, flowing style that moves effortlessly between matter-of-fact and lyrical, expressing a proper sense of wonder at the beauties of the natural world. (The ancient edition I read would be improved by a couple of maps showing the location of real places mentioned in the book - I don't know which later additions have this.)
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautiful book,
This review is from: The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood (Hardcover)
This was not a book that I was able "to look into" before buying.So I clicked on it and hoped for the best. It is indeed a beautiful book with beautiful illustrations. (I ordered it as a used book as a new book would have cost over 100 Pounds!) However, it was in good condition and my daughter is happy with it.
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