The Stopping Places

£8.99

Damian Le Bas grew up on a diet of gypsy history. His great-grandmother, Nan, would tell him stories of her childhood in the ancient Romany language; the places her family stopped and worked, the ways they lived, the superstitions and lores of their people. But his own experience of life on the road was limited to Ford Transit journeys from West Sussex to Hampshire to sell flowers. Longing to better understand his gypsy heritage, the history of the Romany in Britain and the rhythms of their life today, Damian set out on a journey to discover the old encampment sites known only to Travellers. From winter frost to summer dawns, he travels the country to visit horse fairs, urban lay-bys and hidden gypsy churches. ‘The Stopping Places’ shines a light on a group of people and a way of life that has been often hidden and much maligned.

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SKU: 9781784704131 Category:

Description

‘I needed to get to the stopping places, so I needed to get on the road. It was the road where I might at last find out where I belonged.’

Damian Le Bas grew up surrounded by Gypsy history. His great-grandmother would tell him stories of her childhood in the ancient Romani language; the places they worked, the ways they lived, the superstitions and lores of their people.

In a bid to better understand his heritage, Damian sets out on a journey to discover the stopping places – the old encampment sites known only to Travellers. Through winter frosts and summer dawns, from horse fairs to Gypsy churches, Damian lives on the road, somewhere between the romanticised Gypsies of old, and their much-maligned descendants of today.

‘A beautiful writer who seems born to tell this fascinating story’ Amy Liptrot

Winner of the Somerset Maugham Award
Shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Writing Award
Longlisted for the Wainwright Prize

Read a sample here

Additional information

Weight 0.223 kg
Dimensions 19.8 × 12.9 × 1.9 cm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Paperback

Pages

310

Language

English

Edition
Dewey

941.00491497 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K

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