Author: Jane Gardam

Published: 1987

Publisher: Julia Macrae Books

Format: Hardback

Pages: 119

Suitable: Primary (7 to 12 Years of age)

Enter the weird and wonderful world of Lucy's seaside childhood. Meet Aunt Fanny, Auntie Bea and Aunt Kitty. Discover Jinni Love's Fair Days, nanny-nuns, akkerbeests, polycarps and queeds. Marvel at the tales of Mr Crossley's wig, the great ship, the magus Zoroaster and the beast ...

Lucy lived not so many years ago in a small cold town by the sea, where things changed very slowly. She was leased with a lot of remarkable aunts (especially Aunt Kitty, who never stopped travelling), a best friend to share the best days with, and a small brother who sometimes could be rather tiresome. And she had the perfect place to play: the old house, Dennis, standing neglected with its wilderness garden. In this near-idyllic setting lucy's days were a mixture of light and shade, people and places, sometimes filled with wonder, sometimes with adventure, often with hilarity. These gloriously funny, subtle stories evoke not only nostalgia for a time which has past, but also a sharp awareness of just how much remains the same.