Elizabeth McDougall's The Cracks in the Pavement is a complex and moving coming-of-age story of a young white girl in colonial Kenya.
Author Elizabeth McDougall grew up in Africa during this period, and her first-hand accounts of what life was like in the pre-independent colony gives her novel a stunning authenticity and flavor. The story of a white family - the Kingstons - adjusting to Africa in all its complexity and coping with World War II, The Cracks in the Pavement also explores love in all its variations and tells of the eventual triumph of one brave girl.
McDougall argues that despite popular opinion, many British colonialists tried to improve the lives of Kenya's indigenous people. Her African characters are portrayed with both humor and affection. With a keen eye and deep insight, she explores both the good and the bad of colonial rule, creating a cast of complex characters that is absolutely unforgettable. Set against the backdrop of the Mau Mau Rebellion, an insurgency her husband covered for the BBC, McDougall shows how the stage was set for Kenyan independence.
A family saga comprised of a series of love stories, The Cracks in the Pavement captures an astonishing time, and tells the story of a long-gone Africa that is historical, moving, and heart-wrenchingly real.
For more information or to request a free review copy, please contact the author at elizabeth.mcdougall@homecall.co.uk. The Cracks in the Pavement is available for sale online at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Borders.com, and through additional wholesale and retail channels worldwide.
About the Author
Born in London in 1933, Elizabeth McDougall was raised in Kenya, East Africa. In 1953, she married Ian McDougall, a BBC Foreign Correspondent who came to Kenya to cover the Mau Mau Rebellion and travelled the world with him, raising three children in four different European capitals. A onetime stringer for The East African Standard in Singapore, she has published short stories for various magazines. She and her husband now live in West Sussex, United Kingdom.
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