The Dangerous Edge Of Things

by Candida Lycett Green

1949: one year in the childhood of Candida Lycett Green in the remote village of Farnborough in Berkshire. Here she lives with her father John Betjeman and her mother Penelope Chetwode, in one of the bleakest and highest spots on the windswept downland.Candida runs wild with the 'gang' of village children. Stimulated by regular excursions to the cinema in Wantage, Candida and her best friend June became fascinated by the idea of love. Their romantic imagination is fuelled by the beautiful Ruby Mason, who cleans the cottage of a reclusive scientist, Dr Fox, employed at the neighbouring Harwell Atomic Research Centre. They stealthily engineer a romance between the two - until it is revealed that none of the children's special adult friends are what they seem, and the real world shockingly intervenes to overturn their innocence.

Genres: Autobiography

352 pages, Paperback

First published August 24, 2004

Reviews

[Shirley Revill · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled with the audiobook version of this story and managed to get to the end.
This book has some really great reviews so I will try another version of this book at a later date.
The audiobook just wasn't for me.

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

The blurb made this sound way more interesting than it was, as though it was going to all be about Ruby and Dr Fox and some shocking twist, when in fact it was a very sleepy little slice of life novel about many characters. It was interesting but in a slow and comfortable way, where nothing really happens so you feel as though you could just put the book down at any point and finish it there because it’s not really going anywhere to any great climax. I should have put it down but I kept believing the blurb and thinking surely something big is coming!!

The tale of Williams and Walker however had a neat conclusion I will say.

[Paula Third · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful

This was a wonderful insight into my local area (I have lived in Wantage most of my life) and I loved the delicate and innocent musings of the author. A beautiful and interesting story made all the more real because it was real. I thoroughly recommend it

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure how much of this was true - which is always slightly unsettling…