Going Places (The Hopkins Family Saga, Book 5): An endearing account of bringing up a family in the 1950s - Couverture souple

Hopkins, Billy

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0755343212 ISBN 13 : 9780755343218

Editeur : Headline, 2008

Synopsis

It's 1950, and when Laura and Billy Hopkins return to Manchester from their honeymoon, they're in seventh heaven despite the austerity that has been going on since World War II. But the euphoria gradually evaporates and they settle into a penny-pinching existence on Billy's teaching salary, as babies and bills appear with alarming regularity. When Billy spots an advertisement for Education Officers in Kenya, it sounds like the answer to all their prayers, despite worries about the Mau Mau rebellion and the omnipresence of dangerous creatures. After much family debate, Laura, Billy and the junior Hopkins set off to Nairobi on a BOAC Argonaut and start on the biggest adventure of their lives...

A propos du livre

Revue de presse :

GOING PLACES is the story of a family dealing with their dreams, new
challenges and heartaches, and is sure to capture the imagination of all
readers.

(Val Javin, Huddersfield DAILY EXAMINER)

As ever with Billy's books, there's a comedy of errors at every turn.
One problem after another is described with a humour that's so
contagious the reader is soon infected - and will happily suffer the
symptoms.

(Alan Domville, WARRINGTON GUARDIAN)

I have just got back from the Far East (Was I the first to read GOING
PLACES in the Far East?) I loved every word of it. I kept looking back
to see if I had piles more pages to read. If I could take 10 books with
me on an island, 4 of them would be yours (along with C.S. Lewis and
Jake Arnott).

(Robert Splaine, Rutland.)

In GOING PLACES, Kenya unfolds within the prose like an old map and the
country seems to suit the Hopkins sleight of hand. You can sense the
wisdom of experience dripping into his life, page by page.
I read GOING PLACES in one sitting. Time vanished, the sounds of the
day receded, the cat remained unfed.

(Mick Middles, Manchester Evening News.)

GOING PLACES
Billy Hopkins's story is more relevant than ever in these days of TV
shows such as 'No Going Back', but nowadays the world seems a much
smaller place. GOING PLACES is well-written nostalgia for those who are
old enough to remember.

(Jayne Bennett, Bookshelf, SOUTH WALES ARGUS.)

I loved the story of GOING PLACES and your wonderful sense of humour.
I was in Nigeria in the colonial days, in Ecuador, and in Sierra Leone.
Everything you wrote seemed to ring a bell with me.
Thank you for a wonderful book - it recalled so many experiences for me.

(Dr Gus Plaut, Halstead, Essex.)

Thanks to Billy Hopkins's uncluttered writing style, GOING PLACES flows
beautifully.

(Janet Tansley, LIVERPOOL ECHO, June 2003.)

Going Places is the fourth novel written by Billy Hopkins. This latest
in the series, by far the best, engages interest and attention from the
very beginning and keeps up a pace that has the reader eagerly turning
the pages. Though the writing is humorous, there runs through it a vein
of pathos and honesty that induces inner reflection. The author has an
unusually developed skill of capturing the mood of the times and the
"atmosphere" of places and events.
This has to be among the top half dozen autobiographical-like works for
2003 and from now on it will head my personal list of favourite novels
for many years ahead.

(Brian McGuinness, Retired Professor, University of)

Like all his books, GOING PLACES is written in a conversational style
that soon draws you into the dramas of family life and keeps you hooked
right to the end.

(LANCASHIRE LIFE)

Received my copy of GOING PLACES. Just read the first few paragraphs
and had a good laugh. Billy and I are kindred spirits.

(Ken Miller, Derby.)

Biographie de l'auteur :

Billy Hopkins (better known to his family and friends as Wilfred Hopkins) was born in Collyhurst in 1928 and attended schools in Manchester. Before going into higher education, he worked as a copy boy for the Manchester Guardian. He later studied at the Universities of London, Manchester and Leeds and was involved in school-teaching and teacher-training in Liverpool, Manchester, Salford and Glasgow. He also worked in African universities in Kenya, Zimbabwe and Malawi. Billy Hopkins, author, husband and father of six, died aged 83 in 2012.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Headline
• Date d'édition: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0755343212
• ISBN 13: 9780755343218
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 512