Novelist, raconteuse and chronicler of Fenland life, Sybil Marshall was born on a farm in the Huntingdonshire fens before the First World War. One of three children, she had many aunts and uncles -- the source of old tales and new gossip -- constant mischief to get into and a range of fascinating characters who taught her about life.

Here she recounts with the freshness of a child's perceptions the most vivid memories from her early days, from the mysterious 'scientist' who lodged with her aunt to the time the parsley bed was dug up to find out where babies came from. She tells of the tramp who visited them and regaled them with stories, of skating on the frozen fen, of the first bomb of the war and of a riotous fracas between the women at the local fair.

Rich in warmth, humour and affection, these evocative memories hauntingly recapture a time long gone by.

Format: Paperback
Year published: 1997
Pages: 210
Sub-genre: Classics; autobiographical; short stories.
Imprint: Penguin Books