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From a secluded childhood in a haunted stately home in Ireland to the violence of race-racked Africa, Diana Duff has experienced the extremes of life on two continents. Which of them leaves her with the most poignant memories as she approaches old age is something the reader can only guess at, for Duff has a way of seeing the positive in everything. Despite this being her first book, she evokes a sense of place and of personality that many a veteran writer would envy. With a sense of wonder Duff looks back on a life which has been, as she says, too full of incident to go unrecorded. These incidents include clashes with the Mau Mau terrorists in 1950s Kenya, and a confrontation with South Africa's apartheid policies in the 1960s. Born in Johannesburg, the baby Diana was almost immediately abandoned by her mother and a few years later by her father. She was brought up by eccentric grandparents in their rambling home in Ireland but felt more at home with the servants, in particular the elephantine Molly O'Reilly, than with members of her family. She learned of Celtic legends and history and absorbed the Irish countryside into her blood. Yet at 18 she felt the pull of Africa, the land of her birth, and set off to make a new life there. She also determined to trace her mother. Duff recounts the sense of exuberance that swept Africa in those first years of independence from colonial rule. But there were moments of danger, too, as when she spent her nights shaking in fear as the Mau Mau threatened to overrun her home. The spirited Diana married, had a family, moved to Tanganyika and set up the first mixed-race nursery school. Then she moved to South Africa and witnessed the horrors of apartheid. Duff's writing is graphic and moving without being too sentimental. The book ends on a typically upbeat note and readers are left with the feeling that they have met a remarkable woman. (Kirkus UK)
City to Cities Magazine
'a most impressive first book' ... 'an extraordinary tale' ... 'I do hope that this is not her only book'
See all Product Description
From a secluded childhood in a haunted stately home in Ireland to the violence of race-racked Africa, Diana Duff has experienced the extremes of life on two continents. Which of them leaves her with the most poignant memories as she approaches old age is something the reader can only guess at, for Duff has a way of seeing the positive in everything. Despite this being her first book, she evokes a sense of place and of personality that many a veteran writer would envy. With a sense of wonder Duff looks back on a life which has been, as she says, too full of incident to go unrecorded. These incidents include clashes with the Mau Mau terrorists in 1950s Kenya, and a confrontation with South Africa's apartheid policies in the 1960s. Born in Johannesburg, the baby Diana was almost immediately abandoned by her mother and a few years later by her father. She was brought up by eccentric grandparents in their rambling home in Ireland but felt more at home with the servants, in particular the elephantine Molly O'Reilly, than with members of her family. She learned of Celtic legends and history and absorbed the Irish countryside into her blood. Yet at 18 she felt the pull of Africa, the land of her birth, and set off to make a new life there. She also determined to trace her mother. Duff recounts the sense of exuberance that swept Africa in those first years of independence from colonial rule. But there were moments of danger, too, as when she spent her nights shaking in fear as the Mau Mau threatened to overrun her home. The spirited Diana married, had a family, moved to Tanganyika and set up the first mixed-race nursery school. Then she moved to South Africa and witnessed the horrors of apartheid. Duff's writing is graphic and moving without being too sentimental. The book ends on a typically upbeat note and readers are left with the feeling that they have met a remarkable woman. (Kirkus UK)
City to Cities Magazine
'a most impressive first book' ... 'an extraordinary tale' ... 'I do hope that this is not her only book'
See all Product Description
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