Cider with Rosie

by Laurie Lee, Simon Winchester (Introduction)

Overview

“A remarkable book written with such dazzling verbal imagery and such relish in all the sensations of being alive that it is magically contagious.”—New York Times

A beloved classic—more than six million copies sold worldwide—that celebrates a bygone world and the author’s own unforgettable journey from the wonder of childhood to the awkward agonies of adolescence.

Laurie Lee was born in 1914 in Gloucestershire, then a remote corner of England. Abandoned by her husband, Lee’s adoring mother becomes the center of his world as she struggles to raise a family on her own. “I was perfectly content,” Lee writes, “and tumbled through the hand-to-mouth days, patched or dressed-up, scolded, admired, swept off my feet in sudden passions of kisses, or dumped forgotten among the unwashed pots.”

As his childhood passes, very unexpectedly one day, the center of Lee’s world shifts when he meets someone very special...

“I turned to look at Rosie. She was yellow and dusty with buttercups and seemed to be purring in the gloom; her hair was rich as a wild bee’s nest and her eyes were full of stings. I did not know what to do about her, nor did I know what not to do. She looked smooth and precious, a thing of unplumbable mysteries, and perilous as quicksand.”

Throughout, Lee illuminates an era without electricity or telephones, an England on the cusp of the modern era, the cadence of village and family life, with a poignant lyricism that has captivated readers since it was first published in 1959.

This Nonpareil edition includes a new introduction by award-winning author Simon Winchester.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781567928136
Publisher:	Godine, David R. Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	10/22/2024
Series:	Nonpareil Books , #15
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	280
Sales rank:	738,740

About the Author

Laurie Lee was an English memoirist, poet, novelist and screenwriter best known for his three autobiographical novels. Lee was brought up in the small village of Slad in Gloucestershire and his novel that recounts his childhood, Cider with Rosie (1959), continues to be one of the most popular books in the UK. As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning (1969), deals with his leaving home for London and his first visit to Spain in 1935. A Moment of War (1991), is based on his experiences in Spain with the Republican International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War.

Simon Winchester is the acclaimed author of many books, including The Professor and the Madman and, most recently, Knowing What We Know. Winchester was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to journalism and literature. He lives in Massachusetts and New York City.

Table of Contents

First Light     1
First Names     15
Village School     30
The Kitchen     48
Grannies in the Wainscot     65
Public Death, Private Murder     81
Mother     97
Winter and Summer     120
Sick Boy     138
The Uncles     151
Outings and Festivals     166
First Bite at the Apple     185
Last Days     198

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Cider with Rosie

“A remarkable book written with such dazzling verbal imagery and such relish in all the sensations of being alive that it is magically contagious.”
—New York Times

“Remains as fresh and full of joy and gratitude for youth and its sensations as when it first appeared. It sings in the memory.”
—The Sunday London Times

From the Publisher