Identify Books To The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood (Elspeth Huxley's Childhood Memoirs #1)
| Original Title: | The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood |
| ISBN: | 0141183780 (ISBN13: 9780141183787) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Elspeth Huxley's Childhood Memoirs #1 |
Elspeth Huxley
Paperback | Pages: 281 pages Rating: 4.12 | 5132 Users | 258 Reviews
Chronicle As Books The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood (Elspeth Huxley's Childhood Memoirs #1)
In an open cart Elspeth Huxley set off with her parents to travel to Thika in Kenya. As pioneering settlers, they built a house of grass, ate off a damask cloth spread over packing cases, and discovered—the hard way—the world of the African. With an extraordinary gift for detail and a keen sense of humor, Huxley recalls her childhood on the small farm at a time when Europeans waged their fortunes on a land that was as harsh as it was beautiful. For a young girl, it was a time of adventure and freedom, and Huxley paints an unforgettable portrait of growing up among the Masai and Kikuyu people, discovering both the beauty and the terrors of the jungle, and enduring the rugged realities of the pioneer life.
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| Title | : | The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood (Elspeth Huxley's Childhood Memoirs #1) |
| Author | : | Elspeth Huxley |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 281 pages |
| Published | : | February 1st 2000 by Penguin Classics (first published 1959) |
| Categories | : | Cultural. Africa. Autobiography. Memoir. Nonfiction. Biography. Eastern Africa. Kenya |
Rating Based On Books The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood (Elspeth Huxley's Childhood Memoirs #1)
Ratings: 4.12 From 5132 Users | 258 ReviewsAssessment Based On Books The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood (Elspeth Huxley's Childhood Memoirs #1)
I LOVE this book. Have been trying to get everyone I know to read it. Don't know how I missed it all these years as it came out in 1959! Beautiful.Firstly: the only horse in this book seems to be on the front cover. That's why I bought it, but it's not a horse book in the slightest.This autobiography tells the story of 6 year old Elspeth and her early years in Africa before World War 1. Her parents (who she calls by name) travel to Thika where they begin a farm by utilising locals for labour. The story is very slow, and it took me a long time to get into it, but once I did I loved it. It's descriptive about the things around her, and
"The Flame Trees of Thika: Memories of an African Childhood" by Elspeth Huxley, is an absolutely lovely recollection of childhood as it should be for every child. The daughter of two financially strapped, adventurous, and eternally optimistic parents, Elspeth recounts life in Thika in the bush of Kenya, where she spent her youth amongst the Kikuyu and Masai. She lived with nature, with superstitions, with death and love, and certainly writes about it all with great equanimity. She is able to
I'm so glad that I picked up an illustrated edition of this book, as it helped with my wild imagination while reading of Elspeth's adventures. KUDOS to the illustrator Francesca Pelizzoli. Elspeth Huxley and her family travel to Thika, East Africa in 1907 to cultivate coffee crops. They had no idea what was in store for them. To read about the tribes of Africa and their customs and all the crazy adventures, not to mention the hardships was just so intriguing. A really good read that had me going
Great stuff. Her memoir is from the early years of the Kenya colony her parents new farm was one of the first established in that area, and the hinterlands were still pretty much as they were before the Europeans arrived. As others have said, the highlight of the book is the flavor of the East Africa of a century ago: sights, sounds, smells, animals, people. She was a wonderful writer. Not to be missed, if you are interested in East Africa, or this era. The cover photo on the 2000 Penguin
I enjoyed this book immensely. The story of a family and their life being cut out of raw African land, as seen through a child's eyes. The setting is early 20th century before WWI, about the same time Isak Dinensen was at her farm in the Ngong hills. Hardly roads or any comforts; all had to be done by the family. One important observation that struck me was how in this case the English, who came to bring culture, religion and government to the savages, were really upsetting the course of life of
I'm not entirely sure what to make of this one, which has been on my to-read list for years and years. Huxley was young in the events of The Flame Trees of Thika: between six and eight, though her family later returned to Kenya, so this was not the real end of her time there. But Huxley does not write of a child's adventures and experiences. Her focus is much more on the dramas of the adults around her. This makes sense, perhaps; from the sounds of things, her life in Kenya didn't involve many
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