by MARY HOCKING
The wind surged past him; the sun glinted and danced on the steel of Sir William Stanley’s cavalry as it charged down the hill. The standard of the White Boar dipped and swayed and fell. The wind raced on in pursuit of other sport. The battalions of the sky formed and reformed. Everything was movement and change.
Only now that the frame is set about the picture, the movement ceases, the last breath of life rattles out of the figures. They are left to history which tries to impose a pattern on the brilliant fragments, to assemble a cast of good and bad kings, of men who were ambitious and others who were avaricious, of humble folk, mute, downtrodden; all static figures in a static landscape, incapable of the turbulent emotions, the whirlwind hopes and terrors, the glorious inconsistency of the living.
But the streams flow on and mingle with the river, mirroring meadow-sweet and heather-purpled hills and motley men and women passing over bridges, a willow decked with spring and a truant child at play under the hunter’s moon; the wind breaks the images which are tossed about like heaps of brightly-coloured glass and the river carries this living mosaic down to the sea.
Mary Hocking
Born in London in 1921, Mary was educated at Haberdashers’ Aske’s Girls School, Acton. During the Second World War she served in the Women’s Royal Naval Service (Wrens) attached to the Fleet Air Arm Meteorology branch and then briefly with the Signal Section in Plymouth.
Writing was in her blood. Juggling her work as a local government officer in Middlesex Education Department with writing, at first short stories for magazines and pieces for The Times Educational Supplement, she then had her first book, The Winter City, published in 1961.
The book was a success and enabled Mary to relinquish her full time occupation to devote her time to writing. Long before family sagas had become cult viewing, she had embarked upon the `Fairley Family’ trilogy – Good Daughters, Indifferent Heroes, and Welcome Strangers – books which give her readers a faithful, realistic and uncompromising portrayal of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary times, between the years of 1933 and 1946.
For many years she was an active member of the `Monday Lit’, a Lewes-based group which brought in current writers and poets to speak about their work, an enthusiastic supporter of Lewes Little Theatre, and worshipped at the town’s St Pancras RC Church.
Bello
hidden talent rediscovered
Bello is a digital-only imprint of Pan Macmillan,
established to breathe new life into previously published,
classic books.
At Bello we believe in the timeless power of the imagination,
of a good story, narrative and entertainment, and we want to
use digital technology to ensure that many more readers
can enjoy these books into the future.
We publish in ebook and print-on-demand formats
to bring these wonderful books to new audiences.
www.panmacmillan.co.uk/bello
Copyright
First published in Great Britain by Chatto & Windus Ltd 1980
This edition published 2016 by Bello
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.co.uk/bello
ISBN 978-1509-8196-83 EPUB
ISBN 978-1509-8196-69 HB
ISBN 978-1509-8196-76 PB
Copyright © Mary Hocking 1980
The right of Mary Hocking to be identified as the
author of this work has been asserted by him in
accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise)
without the prior written permission of the publisher.
This book remains true to the original in every way. Some aspects may appear
out-of-date to modern-day readers. Bello makes no apology for this, as to retrospectively
change any content would be anachronistic and undermine the authenticity of the original.
Pan Macmillan does not have any control over, or any responsibility for,
any author or third party websites referred to in or on this book.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Typeset by Ellipsis Digital Limited, Glasgow
This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of
trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without
the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than
that in which it is published and without a similar condition including
this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Visit www.panmacmillan.com to read more about all our books
and to buy them. You will also find features, author interviews and
news of any author events, and you can sign up for e-newsletters
so that you’re always first to hear about our new releases.
