Bunting, Madeleine – The Bell Bookshop

The seaside

Emma — Thu, 02 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

“…a fascinating barometer of the state of the nation right now, in the wake of austerity, Brexit and Covid.” – Travis ElboroughEngland’s seaside is made up of a striking variety of coastlines including cliffs, coves, pebbled shore, wide sandy beaches, salt marshes, and estuaries cutting deep inland. On these coastal edges England’s great holiday resorts grew up, developed in the early eighteenth century originally as spas for medicinal bathing but soon morphing into places of pleasure, entertainment, fantasy and adventure.Acclaimed writer Madeleine Bunting journeyed clockwise around England from Scarborough to Blackpool to understand the enduring appeal of seaside towns, and what has happened to the golden sands, cold seas and donkey rides of childhood memory. Taking in some forty resorts, staying in hotels, caravans and holiday camps, she swims from their beaches and talks to their residents to delve into their landscapes, histories and contemporary plight.

The seaside

Emma — Thu, 04 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Ceremony of Innocence

Emma — Thu, 05 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

‘This is a wonderfully original and compelling novel that puts you in mind of John le CarrÃ¯ ¿ ½’s The Night Manager… it’s a thoughtful and sensitive literary thriller… intense, detailed and fast-paced, Ceremony of Innocence is an elegant and satisfying read’ Observer—When a Muslim woman goes missing, a family’s entanglement with Britain’s imperial legacy comes to light in this evocative page-turner.A Cambridge PHD student, Reem, has gone missing. Last seen in Egypt, her friend Fauzia is seeking answers. However, the trail soon leads back to the Wilcox Smith family, and questions about their shadowy wealth.Spanning decades, and traveling between the Shah’s Iran, modern Bahrain, London and the English Countryside, Ceremony of Innocence is a vivid, engrossing story of one family”s ambition and the establishment’s ruthless pursuit of power.—‘A fascinating look at the entanglements of family and secrets against the backdrop of the long shadows of empire, combined with the international power politics of today’ Catherine Hall, author of The Repercussions

Island Song

Emma — Thu, 05 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

In 1940, Helene, young, naive, and recently married, waves goodbye to her husband, who has enlisted in the British army. Her home, Guernsey, is soon invaded by the Germans, leaving her exposed to the hardships of occupation. Forty years later, her daughter, Roz, begins a search for the truth about her father, and stumbles into the secret history of her mother’s life. Written with emotional acuity and passionate intensity, Island Song speaks of the moral complexities of war-time allegiances, the psychological toll of living with the enemy and the messy reality of human relationships in a tightly knit community. As Roz discovers, truth is hard to pin down, and so are the rights and wrongs of those struggling to survive in the most difficult of circumstances.

Love Of Country

Emma — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

The Hebrides hold a remarkable place in the imaginations of Scotland and England. On the outer edge of the British Isles and facing the Atlantic Ocean, these iconic islands form part of Europe’s boundary. Because of their unique position, they have been at the centre of a network of ancient shipping routes which has led to a history of cultures colliding and merging. Home to a long and rich Gaelic tradition, they have attracted saints and sinners, and artists and writers, inspiring awe and dread as well as deep attachment.Over six years, Madeleine Bunting travelled to the Hebrides, exploring their landscapes, histories and magnetic pull. With great sensitivity and perceptiveness, she delves into the meanings of home and belonging, which in these islands have been fraught with tragedy as well as tenacious resistance. She finds that their history of dispossession and migration played a part in the British imperial past. And perhaps more significant still is the extent of the islands’ influence on ideas of Britishness. Love of Country shows how the islands’ history is a backdrop for contemporary debates about the relationship between our nations, how Britain was created, and what Britain has meant – for good and for ill.

Love of Country: A Hebridean Journey

Emma — Thu, 06 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Few landscapes in the British Isles are as iconic as the islands that lie off the north-western Scottish coast. Over a period of six years, Madeleine Bunting returned again and again to the Hebrides, exploring their landscapes, histories and magnetic pull. With great sensitivity and perceptiveness, 'Love of Country' delves into the meanings of home and belonging, which in these islands have been fraught with tragedy as well as tenacious resistance.