Unlike Elspeth Huxley, whose book Flame Trees of Thika I posted about yesterday, while I lived in Kenya from 1962 to 1982 I never felt entirely at ease. However, I do have some outstanding memories.
On a visit to the Nairobi National Park in 1968, a lion, ahead of our car, plodded along the red dirt track. On either side stretched grassland interspersed with thorn trees, weird sculptures beneath a jacaranda-blue sky from which blazed a brazen sun. Not once did the king of beasts look back at our car. Totally at ease he ignored the herds of deer, wildebeest zebras and deer, and the giraffes and ostriches took no notice of him. At a leisurely pace he reached his destination, a flat-topped rock overlooking the grassland on which his harem and his cubs had settled.
As my husband drove away I hoped the lions would enjoy long lives protected from hunters.
Showing posts with label Flame Trees of Thika. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Flame Trees of Thika. Show all posts
Tuesday, 15 October 2013
Monday, 14 October 2013
Flame Trees of Thika
I lived in Kenya from 1961 to 1982. During my years there I visited Thika. When I first went to Kenya I had not heard of Elspeth Huxley's non-fiction book, The Flame Trees of Thika, Memories of an African Childhood, first published in 1959.
I can't remember when I first read the autobiography, but I do recall finding it very interesting, although Elspeth Huxley's experiences in Kenya were so far removed from mine.
The other day, after I met my friend at The Coach and Horses in Rickmansworth I was delighted to find a secondhand copy of the book in a charity shop.
I've finished reading it with a sense of nostalgia for the beauty of the country.
The Flame Trees of Thika is a fascinating account of Elspeth Huxley's life and that of the first settlers in and around Thika, amongst whom were her parents, Robin and Tilly.
The author breathes life into her descriptions of the African tribesmen and women, their way of life, their beliefs and their attitudes.
I shall search for two of her other books, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, !"A Journey through East Africa",and White Man's Country, "Lord Delamere and the making of Kenya," as well as her novel, Red Strangers, a story of Kenya.
I can't remember when I first read the autobiography, but I do recall finding it very interesting, although Elspeth Huxley's experiences in Kenya were so far removed from mine.
The other day, after I met my friend at The Coach and Horses in Rickmansworth I was delighted to find a secondhand copy of the book in a charity shop.
I've finished reading it with a sense of nostalgia for the beauty of the country.
The Flame Trees of Thika is a fascinating account of Elspeth Huxley's life and that of the first settlers in and around Thika, amongst whom were her parents, Robin and Tilly.
The author breathes life into her descriptions of the African tribesmen and women, their way of life, their beliefs and their attitudes.
I shall search for two of her other books, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, !"A Journey through East Africa",and White Man's Country, "Lord Delamere and the making of Kenya," as well as her novel, Red Strangers, a story of Kenya.
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