Andrea Levy 6 Books Collection Set - Fiction - Paperback

Titles in this set:

• Small Island
• The Long Song
• Fruit of the Lemon
• Every Light in the House Burnin'
• Never Far From Nowhere
• Six Stories and an Essay

Description:

Small Island

It is 1948, and England is recovering from a war. But at 21 Nevern Street, London, the conflict has only just begun. Queenie Bligh’s neighbours don’t approve when she agrees to take in Jamaican lodgers, but with her husband, Bernard, not back from the war, she has little choice. Gilbert Joseph, one of the many Jamaican men who joined the RAF to fight Hitler, returns to England as a civilian, only to find he doesn’t receive the welcome he expected. Desperation drives him to Queenie’s door. His wife, Hortense, who has longed for a better life in England, soon joins him, but London is far from the golden city of her dreams. Small Island explores a pivotal moment in England’s past, addressing themes of empire, prejudice, war, and love with a lightness of touch.

The Long Song

This tale is set in Jamaica during the last turbulent years of slavery and the early years of freedom. July, a slave girl on the Amity sugar plantation, narrates her life during the Baptist War of 1831 and the end of slavery. The story also chronicles her mama Kitty, the plantation workers, and Caroline Mortimer, the plantation owner, among others.

Fruit of the Lemon

Faith Jackson secures a great job in TV and a perfect flatshare, but her relationships with her loving yet overbearing family are strained. When her parents decide to retire to Jamaica, Faith journeys there, welcomed by her Aunt Coral, who shares a rich family history that spans continents.

Every Light in the House Burnin'

Angela’s dad sailed to England from America in 1948 on the Empire Windrush for 'better opportunity.' Twenty years later, as he becomes seriously ill, Angela reflects on her childhood spent on a council estate in Highbury while helping her mother through this ordeal.

Never Far From Nowhere

This story follows two sisters, Olive and Vivien, born in London to Jamaican parents. While Vivien navigates a chaotic life filled with friendships and youth clubs, Olive, three years older and darker-skinned, has a very different experience.

Six Stories and an Essay

This collection opens with an essay on how writing has helped Andrea Levy explore her heritage. Each piece is contextualized within her career, concluding with a new story commemorating the centenary of the Great War in 1914. These stories are moving, honest, and filled with insight and a trademark lightness of touch.