Heaven Forbid, Christopher Hope

Hardback, 1st UK edition, Excellent condition.

An unforgettable, highly acclaimed novel of African childhood by a prize winning author In the jacaranda leafed garden of his Johannesburg home, six year old Martin Donally is king of a small and perfect world. It is 1948 and life is full of buoyant childish rhymes and his colourful, Irish extended family. There`s exuberant Grandpa who sings and races horses; chain smoking Auntie Fee, who always sides with the ogres in fairy tales; and above all Georgie, the family`s servant and Martin`s confidant. But this cosy world of fixed certainties is about to end as Martin`s tale turns to one of political and personal tragedy. He can`t possibly foresee the resounding defeat of the liberal government that will usher in a new era of bigotry and intolerance, nor appreciate the significance of the fact Dr Voerwoerd, architect of apartheid, is a neighbour.