LoveReading Says
Stunning and unputdownable. For me, this is the best book I’ve read in a long, long while and I did so in a single sitting. Although, Michael Morpurgo is one of the UK’s best known children’s authors he has that cross-over appeal to the adult market and if you have yet to be introduced to his writing then Private Peaceful is the one to do it with. Morpurgo’s skill at getting you caught up in the world in which he writes is truly outstanding. No one does it better. It’s a story that will make your heart ache as much for the sadness as for the joy. I could go on about it but I won’t. What I can guarantee is that whatever your age you will find it blindingly brilliant and you will reflect on it for some time afterwards too.
LoveReading
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Private Peaceful Synopsis
Private Peaceful relives the life of Private Tommo Peaceful, a young First World War soldier awaiting the firing squad at dawn. During the night he looks back at his short but joyful past growing up in rural Devon: his exciting first days at school; the accident in the forest that killed his father; his adventures with Molly, the love of his life; and the battles and injustices of war that brought him to the front line. Winner of the Blue Peter Book of the Year, Private Peaceful is by the third Children's Laureate, Michael Morpurgo, award-winning author of War Horse. His inspiration came from a visit to Ypres where he was shocked to discover how many young soldiers were court-martialled and shot for cowardice during the First World War.
This edition also includes introductory essays by Michael Morpurgo, Associate Director of Private Peaceful production Mark Leipacher, as well as an essay from Simon Reade, adaptor & director of this stage adaptation of Private Peaceful.
About This Edition
Michael Morpurgo Press Reviews
'Full of warmth as well as grief, conveying vividly how precious it is to be alive.' Sunday Times
'Written from the heart.' Observer
'A deeply moving portrayal of camaraderie and courage, innocence and brutality. Deserves to last as an insight into the First World War in the same way as Goodnight Mr Tom.' Telegraph
'A poignant, elegiac novel.' Daily Mail
About Michael Morpurgo
Michael Morpurgo has written over 90 books and has an unparalleled reputation in the world of children's books. His books have been adapted for the cinema, TV and theatre and he has won numerous awards including Children's Book Award, Whitbred Children's Book Award and the Smarties Prize.
Michael Morpurgo is, in his own words, "oldish, married with three children, and a grandfather six times over." After schools in London, Sussex and Canterbury (one of which was horrible enough to inspire him to describe it obliquely in The Butterfly Lion), he went on to London University to study English and French, followed by a job in a primary school in Kent. It was there that he discovered what he wanted to do. "We had to read the children a story every day and my lot were bored by the book I was reading. I decided I had to do something and told them the kind of story I used to tell my kids - it was like a soap opera, and they focussed on it. I could see there was magic in it for them, and realised there was magic in it for me."
Living in Devon, listening to Mozart, and working with children have provided most of the stimulae Michael needs to discover and write his stories. He spends about half his life mucking out sheds with the children, feeding sheep or milking cows; the other half he spends dreaming up and writing stories.
Michael Morpurgo, former Children's Laureate and author of bestsellers such as War Horse and Why The Whales Came, is the inaugural President of the Historical Writers Association beginning in Autumn 2011. The Historical Writers' Association (www.thehwa.co.uk) will celebrate its first anniversary in October. It was founded to bring social and professional support to writers of historical fiction and non-fiction, publishers, agents and booksellers, all bound both by their common interest in historical books and by the sense of community that comes from a shared obsession.
STOP PRESS: The Harrogate History Festival
Author of War Horse and over 130 books, and much-loved by readers of all ages, Michael Morpurgo will be at the Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate on Friday 23 October. Prepare to be inspired! Click here to find out more.
More About Michael Morpurgo
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