Skip to product information
1 of 1

Goldsboro Books

A Tree on Fire

A Tree on Fire

by Alan Sillitoe

Publisher Macmillan

Genre:

Released:

  • Unsigned
  • UK First Edition
  • First Printing
  • Hardcover


Regular price £50.00
Regular price Sale price £50.00
Sale Sold out
Rendering loop-subscriptions
Rendering loop-subscriptions

Available from:

Limited Edition Copies

View full details

About the book

Jewish dilettante Myra Bassingfield returns to England from Gibraltar with her four-week-old son. Frank Dawley, the childs father and the anarchist antihero of The Death of William Posters, has disappeared into the African desert, where he is fighting with the FLN (Front de Libration Nationale) for Algerian independence against French troops.
Greeting Myra quayside as she disembarks from the ship is Franks friend, Albert Handley, an idealistic painter living in a chaotic house in Linconshire with seven kids, a bulldog, six cats, and two au pair girls. Alberts brother, John, is determined to break from the family and he sets off for Algeria to track Frank downbut not before burning the Handley house to the ground. The Handley brood must then move in with Myra in Buckinghamshire, and by the time Frank finally shows up, they have formed a domestic cell of protest that may just plant the seeds of a new English revolution.

Collapsible content

About the Author

Alan Sillitoe

Alan Sillitoe was born on 4 March 1928 in Nottingham, England. He left school at the age of 14 and worked at the Raleigh Bicycle Factory (1942), and as an air traffic control assistant (1945-6).


His first volume of poetry, Without Beer or Bread, was published in 1957, swiftly followed in 1958 by his first novel, the ground-breaking Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, a vivid portrait of masculinity and Nottinghamshire working-class life. It was awarded the Author's Club First Novel Award and was made into a film starring Albert Finney in 1960, and adapted as a stage play in 1964.


Alan Sillitoe was Visiting Professor of English at Leicester de Montfort University (1994-7), a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and held an honorary fellowship from Manchester Polytechnic (1977). He was also awarded honorary doctorates by Nottingham Polytechnic (1990), Nottingham University (1994) and De Montfort University (1998).
His novel, Birthday (2001), is a sequel to Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. A Man of His Time (2004) is the story of a womanising Nottinghamshire Blacksmith. Gadfly in Russia (2007), is an account of his travels in Russia.
Alan Sillitoe died in April 2010.

  • Professionally Packed

    All of our books that have a dust wrapper are covered in clear protective, removable film and are packed professionally in bubble wrap and a box for shipping so that they reach you in perfect condition.

  • Book Condition & Notes

    Fine first edition, with previous owner's name written on front flyleaf. In a fine unclipped dust jacket with very slight chipping to top of spine.

  • The October Must-Reads: Bookseller Top Picks

    The October Must-Reads: Bookseller Top Picks

    David Headley

    As the leaves turn and the evenings draw in, there’s nothing quite like settling down with a brilliant new book to escape into.  With so many incredible titles being released...

    David Headley

    The October Must-Reads: Bookseller Top Picks

    As the leaves turn and the evenings draw in, there’s nothing quite like settling down with a brilliant new book to escape into.  With so many incredible titles being released...

  • Glass Bell Winner 2024: Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati

    Glass Bell Winner 2024: Clytemnestra by Costanz...

    Rebecca McDonnell

      This evening, Goldsboro Books announced the winner of their seventh Glass Bell Award, Costanza Casati for her evocative Greek retelling, Clytemnestra (Michael Joseph, May 2023).  The Award was presented...

    Rebecca McDonnell

    Glass Bell Winner 2024: Clytemnestra by Costanz...

      This evening, Goldsboro Books announced the winner of their seventh Glass Bell Award, Costanza Casati for her evocative Greek retelling, Clytemnestra (Michael Joseph, May 2023).  The Award was presented...

  • An Interview with David Wragg

    An Interview with David Wragg

    Goldsboro Books

    We recently had the joy of hosting David Wragg as he signed copies of The Company of the Wolf, the sequel to The Hunters in the Tales of the Plains...

    Goldsboro Books

    An Interview with David Wragg

    We recently had the joy of hosting David Wragg as he signed copies of The Company of the Wolf, the sequel to The Hunters in the Tales of the Plains...

  • Goldsboro's Summer Bestseller List: London vs Brighton

    Goldsboro's Summer Bestseller List: London vs B...

    David Headley

    We’re delighted to reveal our summer bestseller lists from our independent bookshops in Brighton and London. This summer has been another incredible season for the book community, highlighting a strong...

    David Headley

    Goldsboro's Summer Bestseller List: London vs B...

    We’re delighted to reveal our summer bestseller lists from our independent bookshops in Brighton and London. This summer has been another incredible season for the book community, highlighting a strong...

1 of 4