Dancing Fish and Ammonites

A Memoir

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Rare personal reflections from “one of our most talented writers” (The New York Times Book Review)

Look out for Penelope Lively’s new book, The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories.

Memory and history have been Penelope Lively’s terrain in fiction throughout a career that has spanned five decades. In this “funny, smart, and poignant” (Los Angeles Times) memoir, she offers a glimpse into her influences and formative years, as well as a view of what life looks like from the vantage point of eighty years. Lively traces the arc of her own life, from early childhood in Cairo to boarding school in England to the sweeping social changes of Britain’s twentieth century. She reflects on her early love of archaeology, and on the fragments of the ancients that have accompanied her journey. She also takes an intimate look back at a life devoted to books and writes insightfully about aging.
© Robin Matthews
Penelope Lively’s adult novel Moon Tiger won the Booker Prize. In addition, her children’ s book The Ghost of Thomas Kempe won the Carnegie Medal, and A Stitch in Time won the Whitbread Book of the Year award. View titles by Penelope Lively

About

Rare personal reflections from “one of our most talented writers” (The New York Times Book Review)

Look out for Penelope Lively’s new book, The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories.

Memory and history have been Penelope Lively’s terrain in fiction throughout a career that has spanned five decades. In this “funny, smart, and poignant” (Los Angeles Times) memoir, she offers a glimpse into her influences and formative years, as well as a view of what life looks like from the vantage point of eighty years. Lively traces the arc of her own life, from early childhood in Cairo to boarding school in England to the sweeping social changes of Britain’s twentieth century. She reflects on her early love of archaeology, and on the fragments of the ancients that have accompanied her journey. She also takes an intimate look back at a life devoted to books and writes insightfully about aging.

Author

© Robin Matthews
Penelope Lively’s adult novel Moon Tiger won the Booker Prize. In addition, her children’ s book The Ghost of Thomas Kempe won the Carnegie Medal, and A Stitch in Time won the Whitbread Book of the Year award. View titles by Penelope Lively

Books for Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Every May we celebrate the rich history and culture of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Browse a curated selection of fiction and nonfiction books by AANHPI creators that we think your students will love. Find our full collection of titles for Higher Education here.

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