Description

Book Synopsis

''They won''t know you, the you that''s hidden somewhere in the castle of your skin''

Nine-year-old G. leads a life of quiet mischief crab catching, teasing preachers and playing among the pumpkin vines. His sleepy fishing village in 1930s Barbados is overseen by the English landlord who lives on the hill, just as their ''Little England'' is watched over by the Mother Country. Yet gradually, G. finds himself awakening to the violence and injustice that lurk beneath the apparent order of things. As the world he knows begins to crumble, revealing the bruising secret at its heart, he is spurred ever closer to a life-changing decision. Lyrical and unsettling, George Lamming''s autobiographical coming-of-age novel is a story of tragic innocence amid the collapse of colonial rule.

''Rich and riotous'' The Times

''Its poetic imaginative writing has never been surpassed'' Tribune



Trade Review
Its poetic imaginative writing has never been surpassed * Tribune *
Rich and riotous * The Times *
Fluent, poetical, sophisticated * Sunday Times *

In the Castle of My Skin

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    A Paperback / softback by George Lamming

    £9.49

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    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Wed 16 Sep 2026.

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      Book details

      Publisher Penguin Random House Group
      Imprint Penguin Classics
      Published 25 May 2017
      ISBN-13 9780241296066
      978-0241296066
      ISBN-10 0241296064
      Also in:
      Contemporary Fiction Biography Autobiography: arts and entertainment History Colonialism and imperialism

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      ''They won''t know you, the you that''s hidden somewhere in the castle of your skin''

      Nine-year-old G. leads a life of quiet mischief crab catching, teasing preachers and playing among the pumpkin vines. His sleepy fishing village in 1930s Barbados is overseen by the English landlord who lives on the hill, just as their ''Little England'' is watched over by the Mother Country. Yet gradually, G. finds himself awakening to the violence and injustice that lurk beneath the apparent order of things. As the world he knows begins to crumble, revealing the bruising secret at its heart, he is spurred ever closer to a life-changing decision. Lyrical and unsettling, George Lamming''s autobiographical coming-of-age novel is a story of tragic innocence amid the collapse of colonial rule.

      ''Rich and riotous'' The Times

      ''Its poetic imaginative writing has never been surpassed'' Tribune



      Trade Review
      Its poetic imaginative writing has never been surpassed * Tribune *
      Rich and riotous * The Times *
      Fluent, poetical, sophisticated * Sunday Times *

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