Late summer near Dublin, 1920, and up at the great house there are still cucumber sandwiches for tea. Slipping away from Aunt Mary and dotty Grandfather, 18-year-old Nancy has escaped down to the shore to dream in the beach hut - longing for her life to begin.
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Late summer near Dublin, 1920, and up at the great house there are still cucumber sandwiches for tea. Slipping away from Aunt Mary and dotty Grandfather, 18-year-old Nancy has escaped down to the shore to dream in the beach hut - longing for her life to begin.
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Add this copy of The Old Jest to cart. $17.66, very good condition, Sold by Cambridge Rare Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Cambridge, Gloucestershire, UNITED KINGDOM, published 1979 by Hamish Hamilton Ltd.
Add this copy of The Old Jest to cart. $30.00, like new condition, Sold by Between the Covers-Rare Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gloucester City, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 1979 by Hamish Hamilton.
Add this copy of The Old Jest to cart. $35.00, like new condition, Sold by Between the Covers-Rare Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Gloucester City, NJ, UNITED STATES, published 1979 by Hamish Hamilton.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in Fine jacket. Second printing. Fine in fine just jacket with the printed wraparound band announcing it as the winner of the 1979 Whitbread Literary Award for the Best Novel (two tape shadows).
Jennifer Johnston has an amazing ability to convey to anyone who is not Irish just how complex and fascinating are her fellows. This book, set in the years after the First World War, captures the nature of teenagers and their idealism exactly. National conflict clashes headlong with the romantic secret ideas of Nancy, leading to ultimate tragedy. No character is superfluous, all are sparely delineated but in such a way that the reader is left with a clear idea of how they look and sound and think. Jennifer Johnston has never written a poor book and I treasure every one; reading them gives one mental stimulation of the highest and best kind.