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The Runaway Bride
The wedding has been arranged and the guests and the bridegroom are waiting in the Cathedral - but where is the bride? What is it that has made life with handsome, wealthy Philip seem impossible after all? Pamela has got to get away to find herself, her true vocation and - could it be? - love.
136 pages, Paperback
First published September 29, 1994
About the author
Barbara Kimenye
36 books60 followersBarbara Kimenye (19 December 1929 – 12 August 2012), was one of East Africa's most popular and best-selling children's authors. Her books sold more than a million copies, not just in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, but throughout English-speaking Africa. She wrote more than 50 titles and is best remembered for her Moses series, about a mischievous student at a boarding school for troublesome boys.
A prolific writer widely regarded as "the leading writer of Children's literature in Uganda", Barbara Kimenye was among the first Anglophone Ugandan women writers to be published in Central and East Africa. Her stories were extensively read in Uganda and beyond and were widely used in African schools. Kimenye was born in England, but by her own admission considered herself Ugandan
A prolific writer widely regarded as "the leading writer of Children's literature in Uganda", Barbara Kimenye was among the first Anglophone Ugandan women writers to be published in Central and East Africa. Her stories were extensively read in Uganda and beyond and were widely used in African schools. Kimenye was born in England, but by her own admission considered herself Ugandan
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 14, 2026
The book begins wildly entertaining, right from the jump. The descriptions and reactions of the family members, the parents, and even the guests are hilarious. From the beginning of the book, I was completely drawn in. The writer explains the story in a way that immediately thrusts you into the chaos of a bride running away from her wedding. You feel as though you woke up that morning and someone suddenly said, “Come, there’s a wedding happening today and we’ve got to be there!” You don’t know who anybody is yet, not the bride, not the family, no one, but you’re suddenly there in the middle of the confusion.
Honestly, it feels almost like you’re on holiday in Uganda and Barbara Kimenye has dragged you along to witness this drama unfolding in real time. You are not gently welcomed into the story. You simply have no choice but to witness what is going on. Immediately, you become part of the shock and chaos, and I think she invites the reader into the story excellently.
But then comes the “but”.
As entertaining as the story is at the beginning, when you start to get to know Pamela and her reasons for fleeing what should have been the biggest day of her life, the reader is not fully given the chance to grasp the depth of why she made the decision she did. The reason is explained, but briefly or simply. The deeper emotional layers feel missing at times.
That said, this is because it is a short story, and I think it is clearly aimed at younger readers. So if you are grown and reading this book, please give it enough grace to understand that some of the depth simply is not going to be there for a more mature reader. This is absolutely a book suitable for secondary school readers, and honestly, it is an excellent read for that age group.
If this had been a larger, thicker novel, perhaps the author would have had time to develop each character more fully. However, we do still quickly understand the behaviours and personalities of the people Pamela meets along the way.
At certain points though, you genuinely find yourself thinking: why are we here? When are we leaving this place? Why are we moving again? What exactly is going on? Pamela has run away from her wedding and somehow found herself in the middle of various unfamiliar places and situations, and at times you almost feel as confused, tired, and fed up as she does herself.
Oddly enough, I think that is part of the writer’s intention and skill. Even though I would not call this the most groundbreaking book I have ever read, something kept pulling me back to it. I was determined to finish it.
There is a large section in the middle that drags somewhat, but the descriptions, dialogue, and constant chaos Pamela intertwines herself with are enough to keep you going.
Even though Pamela is the focal point of the story, she is quite vain, self-centred, and self-absorbed. At times, you genuinely grow tired of her. You expect the writer to perhaps give you more room to pardon her because of the stress she is under, but not really you’re left to draw your own conclusions about her.
Surprisingly, the standout character for me was Terri.
Terri saves this book.
She is the woman who saves this story. She stands up to the bully and other bullies within the story and does so gracefully and intelligently. Again, because this is a short Pacesetters novella, we are not given a huge amount of time to deeply explore every character’s motivations, but Barbara Kimenye still manages to give us enough to understand people beyond being simply “good” or “bad”.
One thing I found interesting was that the main bully in the story is given room to explain themselves. I appreciated that, although I did sometimes question whether someone in that position, within certain cultural expectations, would really cave in quite so easily. Then again, people surprise you, and such is life.
Although the story sometimes takes you on such a whirlwind of events the ending is lovely. As you reach the later chapters, you begin to realise how the story may end, and honestly, after everything you go through with the characters, you almost feel relieved by it.
The epilogue was also a really nice addition. I appreciated getting to see how life unfolded for the key characters afterwards, although again, because it is such a short story, the epilogue does feel slightly rushed. Still, I think the way this book begins and ends is genuinely very good.
If you are looking for depth, this may not fully satisfy you as an adult reader. However, I would still highly recommend it to anyone interested in reading through the Pacesetters series.
And for younger readers, especially girls aged around 12 to 16 - as core readers, but possibly even young adults aged 18-21 I think books like this are genuinely valuable. Even though these stories were written decades ago, many of the themes still apply today: gender expectations, identity, family pressure, social pressure, status, and what is expected of young women.
This is the kind of book that can really get a young girl thinking, regardless of whether she is from Africa, Europe, America, Asia or anywhere else.
Not necessarily about running away from a wedding, no far from that, but about how to navigate life, expectations, and pressure with wisdom, grace and courage as a young woman.
For that reason alone, I think this is a good book.
I scored it the way I did simply because, as a grown reader in my 30s, I naturally wanted more depth. But I can still pardon that because of the book’s intended audience and format.
Honestly, it feels almost like you’re on holiday in Uganda and Barbara Kimenye has dragged you along to witness this drama unfolding in real time. You are not gently welcomed into the story. You simply have no choice but to witness what is going on. Immediately, you become part of the shock and chaos, and I think she invites the reader into the story excellently.
But then comes the “but”.
As entertaining as the story is at the beginning, when you start to get to know Pamela and her reasons for fleeing what should have been the biggest day of her life, the reader is not fully given the chance to grasp the depth of why she made the decision she did. The reason is explained, but briefly or simply. The deeper emotional layers feel missing at times.
That said, this is because it is a short story, and I think it is clearly aimed at younger readers. So if you are grown and reading this book, please give it enough grace to understand that some of the depth simply is not going to be there for a more mature reader. This is absolutely a book suitable for secondary school readers, and honestly, it is an excellent read for that age group.
If this had been a larger, thicker novel, perhaps the author would have had time to develop each character more fully. However, we do still quickly understand the behaviours and personalities of the people Pamela meets along the way.
At certain points though, you genuinely find yourself thinking: why are we here? When are we leaving this place? Why are we moving again? What exactly is going on? Pamela has run away from her wedding and somehow found herself in the middle of various unfamiliar places and situations, and at times you almost feel as confused, tired, and fed up as she does herself.
Oddly enough, I think that is part of the writer’s intention and skill. Even though I would not call this the most groundbreaking book I have ever read, something kept pulling me back to it. I was determined to finish it.
There is a large section in the middle that drags somewhat, but the descriptions, dialogue, and constant chaos Pamela intertwines herself with are enough to keep you going.
Even though Pamela is the focal point of the story, she is quite vain, self-centred, and self-absorbed. At times, you genuinely grow tired of her. You expect the writer to perhaps give you more room to pardon her because of the stress she is under, but not really you’re left to draw your own conclusions about her.
Surprisingly, the standout character for me was Terri.
Terri saves this book.
She is the woman who saves this story. She stands up to the bully and other bullies within the story and does so gracefully and intelligently. Again, because this is a short Pacesetters novella, we are not given a huge amount of time to deeply explore every character’s motivations, but Barbara Kimenye still manages to give us enough to understand people beyond being simply “good” or “bad”.
One thing I found interesting was that the main bully in the story is given room to explain themselves. I appreciated that, although I did sometimes question whether someone in that position, within certain cultural expectations, would really cave in quite so easily. Then again, people surprise you, and such is life.
Although the story sometimes takes you on such a whirlwind of events the ending is lovely. As you reach the later chapters, you begin to realise how the story may end, and honestly, after everything you go through with the characters, you almost feel relieved by it.
The epilogue was also a really nice addition. I appreciated getting to see how life unfolded for the key characters afterwards, although again, because it is such a short story, the epilogue does feel slightly rushed. Still, I think the way this book begins and ends is genuinely very good.
If you are looking for depth, this may not fully satisfy you as an adult reader. However, I would still highly recommend it to anyone interested in reading through the Pacesetters series.
And for younger readers, especially girls aged around 12 to 16 - as core readers, but possibly even young adults aged 18-21 I think books like this are genuinely valuable. Even though these stories were written decades ago, many of the themes still apply today: gender expectations, identity, family pressure, social pressure, status, and what is expected of young women.
This is the kind of book that can really get a young girl thinking, regardless of whether she is from Africa, Europe, America, Asia or anywhere else.
Not necessarily about running away from a wedding, no far from that, but about how to navigate life, expectations, and pressure with wisdom, grace and courage as a young woman.
For that reason alone, I think this is a good book.
I scored it the way I did simply because, as a grown reader in my 30s, I naturally wanted more depth. But I can still pardon that because of the book’s intended audience and format.
March 10, 2012
Well, what would you say if your bride never showed up on your wedding day? The wedding has been arranged and the guests and the bridegroom are waiting in the Cathedral - but where is the bride? What is it that has made life with handsome, wealthy Philip seem impossible after all? Pamela has got to get away to find herself, her true vocation and - could it be? - love.
It is an intricate story of love and pain, betrayal, and money.
It is an intricate story of love and pain, betrayal, and money.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews