The World My Wilderness

Introduced by Penelope Fitzgerald'They stood, with no roof but the sky, while pigeons whirred about them. Suddenly the bells of St Paul's clashed out, drowning them in sweet, hoarse, rocking clamour ... The children stood still, gazing on a wilderness of little streets, caves and cellars, the foundations of a wrecked merchant city, grown over by green and golden fennel and ragwort, coltsfoot, purple loosestrife, rosebay willow herb'Barbary spent her childhood running wild with the Maquis, experiencing danger, collaboration and betrayal. She learnt to survive. The war is now over, Barbary is seventeen, and it is decided that she should learn how to behave. Sent from the sunshine of Provence to her father in austere, post-war London, Barbary is confused and unhappy, patronised by her 'civilised' relatives. When she discovers a flowering wasteland in the heart of the bombed city, Barbary finds the sanctuary she needs; here, in this echo of the wilderness of Provence, she can confront the fear and emptiness that have become part of her.