Description
Book SynopsisHector is an 11-year-old boy living near Edinburgh with his great auntie Robbo who is in her eighties. A woman calling herself his step-mother arrives from England and Hector and Auntie Robbo realise that they have to run away. The chase leads all over the north of Scotland, narrowly escaping police and the authorities, adopting three homeless children on the way.
Originally refused publication in London because it was deemed critical of the English, Auntie Robbo was first published in the U.S. in 1940. After success in print it was taken on by Constable in 1959 and later was published in India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Denmark and Germany.
Trade Review'It’s a novel about the human appetite for life, about the delight in sharing and companionship,…about heroic eccentricity versus agents of conformity.'
-- Dr Nick Campbell * The Impossible Library *
‘Extravagant and rollicking… It has the complete irresponsibility which is only possible from a serious writer.’
* New Alliance *
'Immensely entertaining story, one of my favourite books as a child, I still think it very engaging now. Auntie Robbo is a marvellous character, and her adventures with Hector remain as amusing to read now as they were over forty years ago.'
* Goodreads *
'Taking us all over the Highlands of Scotland, [Auntie Robbo] appeals to the imagination of children and the impulse to be free of authority. I am delighted and excited to be publishing it and to show off the great spirit of Auntie Robbo herself. The story has more resonance today, when there are even more rules governing children’s lives, and the need to escape into the open air and Highland hills is more imperative than ever.'—The Bookseller
