A History Of Insects

by Yvonne Roberts

It is early 1956 and the British Empire is crumbling. But for nine-year-old Ella, living with her parents at the British High Commission in Peshawar, Pakistan, the walls of class, snobbery and racism are still intact. Growing up is a lonely, painful experience, and Ella withdraws, recording the hypocrisy of adult behaviour in her diary, A History of Insects, where she hides a secret that could shatter the lives of the people around her.

Written from the perspective of a young girl, and illuminating an evocative account of the loss of innocence, it heralds a radical departure of Yvonne Robert's writing.

The intricacies of class and the social-life of the British High Commission are beautifully observed, and Ella's confusion over race, politics and religion mirrors a society where nothing is quite what it seems.

ISBN 0-380-78903-5