{"product_id":"9780007166442","title":"Learning to Talk : Short Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003e Author(s): Mantel, Hilary \u003cbr\u003e Binding: Paperback, \u003cbr\u003e Date of Publication: 07\/07\/2003,\u003cbr\u003e Pagination: 176 pages,\u003cbr\u003e ISBN13\\EAN\\SKU: 9780007166442,\u003cbr\u003e Description: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA companion piece to the captivating memoir Giving Up the Ghost by the Man Booker-winning author of Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies and The Mirror \u0026amp; the Light, this collection of loosely autobiographical stories locates the transforming moments of a haunted childhood.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e  This sharp, funny collection of stories drawn from life begins in the 1950s in an insular northern village 'scoured by bitter winds and rough gossip tongues.' For the child narrator, the only way to survive is to get up, get on, get out.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e In 'King Billy is a Gentleman', the child must come to terms with the loss of a father and the puzzle of a fading Irish heritage. 'Curved Is the Line of Beauty' is a story of friendship, faith and a near-disaster in a scrap-yard. The title story sees our narrator ironing out her northern vowels with the help of an ex-actress with one lung and a Manchester accent. In 'Third Floor Rising', she watches, dazzled, as her mother carves out a stylish new identity.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e With a deceptively light touch, Mantel locates the transforming moments of a haunted childhood.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Griffin Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43697603477548,"sku":"9780007166442","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0379\/1365\/7388\/files\/9780007166442.jpg?v=1722597233","url":"https:\/\/www.griffinbooksonline.co.uk\/products\/9780007166442","provider":"Griffin Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}