A Cornish Summer

The Minack Chronicles #7

by Derek Tangye

The story of Derek and Jeannie Tangye's life on their flower farm near Land's End has fascinated people all over the world since A GULL ON THE ROOF was published. Then followed A CAT IN THE WINDOW, A DRAKE AT THE DOOR, A DONKEY IN THE MEADOW, LAMA and THE WAY TO MINACK. The latter described a sophisticated period of Derek Tangye's life when he was an important member of MI5, and Jeannie Tangye was Press Officer of the Savoy Hotel Group.

Now comes A CORNISH SUMMER. This beautifully written book is as evocative as its title. You meet old friends. Lama the black cat, Penny and Fred the donkeys, Boris the drake, and the gulls; and you obtain a marvelous sense of a Cornish world that is trying to hold out against the pressures of modern civilization. It is not just an animal book. The animals play their parts but are only a fragment of the tapestry. The theme of A CORNISH SUMMER is a subtle probing into the individual's place in a mass production age. Discerning and humorous, displaying a profound insight into the problems facing men and women trapped by their environment, Derek Tangye's A CORNISH SUMMER captivates, intrigues, and soothes.

"Derek Tangye," writes Beverley Nichols, "has a very definite place in the literature of this country in the post-war decades. He is essentially a miniaturist, and he conveys his most delicate perceptions sotto cove he is one of the few modern writers who can whisper, and still be heard."

Genres: Biography

189 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1977

About the author

During WWII, Derek Tangye worked for MI5 (the U.K.'s domestic counter-intelligence and security agency) and, after the war, he worked as a newspaper columnist. His wife, Jeannie Nicol Tangye, was a hotel PR executive. They both left their jobs in the city to move to a simple cottage on a flower farm in Cornwall.

Reviews

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this little gem. I had read it many years ago, along with a number of other titles of this author. Derek Tangye with his beloved wife Jeanne wrote beautiful little stories about their life together in a little cottage salvaged from a wreckage with their cats, their donkeys, and numerous other 'wild' creatures. He talks with much humility of how they treasured their solitude and serenity living in the midst of nature. Far away from the madness of ever increasing modern development. Look him up on the net, there are numerous wonderful sites, and a society has been formed to celebrate and perpetuate both their lives.

[Dr Susan Turner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another of the books I inherited from my neighbour - a gentle reminiscence of the Good Life in Minack, Cornwall by the author with black and white vignettes by his wife Jeanne. Mid 20th century English rural and village life and an early attempt to live a more environmentally related life. I found his chapters rather rambling - might have benefitted from sub headings plus,oh please, an index!

[Calin Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A meandering cozy read. The charm of this book was found in the reality that there was no defined narrative or conclusion; much like life, this book ebbs and flows as the author discusses the beauty found in the ordinary happenings of his life in Cornwall.