The Nightmare Years (Twentieth Century Journey, Vol 2)

This Is R.K. Narayan S Classic Chronicle Of The Adventures Of A Boy Named Swami, And His Friends Rajam And Mani, In A Sleepy And Picturesque South Indian Town Called Malgudi. Swami S Days Are Full Of Action-When He Is Not Creating A Ruckus In The Classroom Or Preparing In His Inimitable Way For Exams, He S Trying To Acquire A Hoop From The Coachman S Son To Run Down The Malgudi Streets, Playing Tricks On His Grandmother, Or Stoning The School Windows, Inspired By A Swadeshi Demonstration. But The Greatest Feat Of Swami And His Friends Lies In Putting Together A Cricket Team For The Mcc (The Malgudi Cricket Club) And Challenging The Neighbouring Young Men S Union To A Match. Just Before The Match, However, Things Go Horribly, Horribly Wrong, And Swami Has No Option But To Run Away From Home, Wanting Never To Return To Malgudi Again . . . Malgudi Schooldays Is A Brilliantly Evocative And Delightfully Funny Account Of The Growing-Up Years From One Of The Greatest English Language Writers Of Our Time. Includes A Slightly Abridged Version Of The Novel Swami And Friends Along With Two Other Swami Stories, Available Together For The First Time Features Fifteen Black-And-White Illustrations By R.K. Laxman Attractive Design The First In A Series Of Indian Literature Classics On The Puffin List

When ​Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly in his early 40s, the little town of Pagford is left in shock. Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.

Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils… Pagford is not what it first seems.

And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

Brings together a novelette, a novel, short stories, and an article on Conan Doyle’s experiences as a ship’s surgeon reproduced from the pages of The Strand Magazine