The Colour of Milk - Hardcover

Leyshon, Nell

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0062245821 ISBN 13: 9780062245823

Publisher: Ecco Pr, 2012

Synopsis

The year is eighteen hundred and thirty one when fifteen-year-old Mary begins the difficult task of telling her story. A scrap of a thing with a sharp tongue and hair the colour of milk, Mary leads a harsh life working on her father's farm alongside her three sisters. In the summer she is sent to work for the local vicar's invalid wife, where the reasons why she must record the truth of what happens to her - and the need to record it so urgently - are gradually revealed. "Haunting, distinctive voices...Mary's spare simple words paint brilliant pictures in the reader's mind...Nell Leyshon's imaginative powers are considerable". ("Independent"). "Bronte-esque undertones ...a disturbing statement on the social constraints faced by 19th-century women". ("FT"). "A small tour de force - a wonderfully convincing voice, and a devastating story told with great skill and economy". (Penelope Lively). "I loved it. "The Colour of Milk" is charming, Bronte-esque, compelling, special and hard to forget. I loved Mary's voice - so inspiring and likeable. Such a hopeful book". (Marian Keyes). "Brilliant, devastating and unforgettable". (Easy Living). Nell Leyshon's first novel, Black Dirt, was long-listed for the Orange Prize, and shortlisted for the Commonwealth prize. Her plays include "Comfort me with Apples", which won an Evening Standard Award, and "Bedlam", which was the first play written by a woman for Shakespeare's Globe. She writes for BBC Radio 3 and 4, and won the Richard Imison Award for her first radio play. Nell was born in Glastonbury and lives in Dorset.

About this title

Product Description:

When her father, a man whose anger is unleashed at the slightest provocation, sends her to work for the local vicar and his invalid wife, Mary finds her new place of employment an endless source of books and learning, but discovers that such precious knowledge comes with a devastating price.

Review:

"I loved it. "The Colour of Milk" is charming, Bront?-esque, compelling, special, and hard to forget. I loved Mary's voice--so inspiring and likeable. Such a hopeful book."--Marian Keyes, bestselling author of "Angels" and "Anybody Out There?"

"Resonant, heartbreaking. . . . "The Colour of Milk" is a truly wonderful read--a slender, beautiful novel with as much heart as a book twice its size."--San Francisco Chronicle

"The unflinching, observant, and thoroughly persuasive voice of the narrator, a shrewd, illiterate farm girl, makes this slim novel striking."--The Atlantic

"Compelling. . . . Leyshon brings her narrator brilliantly to life. . . . Mary draws the reader in from the opening pages. Here is a headstrong, forthright, optimistic character determined to survive her wretched circumstances in a literary jewel crafted by an accomplished writer."--Booklist

"At once lyric and brutal. . . . Readers of historical and women's fiction should investigate."---Library Journal

Resonant, heartbreaking. . . . "The Colour of Milk" is a truly wonderful read a slender, beautiful novel with as much heart as a book twice its size. --San Francisco Chronicle"

The unflinching, observant, and thoroughly persuasive voice of the narrator, a shrewd, illiterate farm girl, makes this slim novel striking. --The Atlantic"

Compelling. . . . Leyshon brings her narrator brilliantly to life. . . . Mary draws the reader in from the opening pages. Here is a headstrong, forthright, optimistic character determined to survive her wretched circumstances in a literary jewel crafted by an accomplished writer. --Booklist"

At once lyric and brutal. . . . Readers of historical and women s fiction should investigate. ---Library Journal"

Nell Leyshon has beautifully captured a voice that haunts, long after the last word has been read. Brava! --Kathleen Grissom, "New York Times" bestselling author of "The Kitchen House""

About this edition

• Publisher: Ecco Pr
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0062245821
• ISBN 13: 9780062245823
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 171