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Andrea Ashworth, at age twenty-eight one of the youngest fellows at Oxford University, is a young woman of remarkable charm, poise, and intelligence. Her path to her present life, however, has been far from conventional, and in this striking memoir, written with courage and delicacy, she shares a story that makes her achievements all the more astonishing.
Although she only vaguely remembers her Maltese father, who died when she was five, Andrea quickly becomes aware that the dark skin she inherited from him sets her apart from her English mother and the series of stepfathers who soon enter her life. Through the sharp and penetrating eyes of childhood, Andrea imparts a vivid and unforgettable portrait of a family terrorized by the explosive rage of one stepfather and then another.
Sensitive and observant, the young girl watches the remorse, apologies, and repeated rampages of these men, yet she never gives in to despair. For even in a house where the noise of turning pages is reason enough for brutality, Andrea finds a haven in the work of great writers - Joyce, Eliot, D. H. Lawrence, and others - who allow her to see a world beyond her own and set her on the path toward intellectual and artistic awakening.
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Previews available in: English
Subjects
Biography, Bibliotherapy, Adult child abuse victims, Social conditions, Dysfunctional families, Stepdaughters, Juvenile literature, Childhood and youth, Women, Women, biography, University of oxford, Manchester (england), Great britain, biography, Abusive men, StepfathersPeople
Andrea Ashworth (1969-)Places
EnglandShowing 6 featured editions. View all 6 editions?
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1
Once in a House on Fire
February 6, 2004, Macmillan Children's Books
Paperback
- New Ed edition
0330436597 9780330436595
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3
Once in a House on Fire
September 21, 2001, Macmillan Audio Books
Audio Cassette
in English
0333907833 9780333907832
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4
Once In A House On Fire: A Memoir
May 15, 1999, Holt Paperbacks
Paperback
in English
0805057633 9780805057638
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5
Once in a house on fire
1998, Metropolitan Books
in English
- 1st American ed.
0805057625 9780805057621
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6
Once in a house on fire
1998, Metropolitan Books
in English
- 1st American ed.
0805057625 9780805057621
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Book Details
First Sentence
"My father drowned when I was five years old."
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