Donkey Boy - Henry Williamson

Donkey Boy (1952) was the second entry in Henry Williamson''s fifteen-volume A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight spanning the years from the late Victorian period to the Second World War. It tells of Richard Maddison''s first-born Phillip, nicknamed ''donkey boy'' because his life was saved in infancy by being fed with ass''s milk. The boy grows up in the Edwardian era, something of a misfit, at odds with his father.

''With extraordinary skill and precision [Williamson] rebuilds the scenery of the past... [he] seems to be engaged in a thriller whose instalments can be relied on to animate a whole section of social history.'' Spectator
''Williamson''s style is romantic, though rarely sentimental, and his sensuous response to nature is fresh and surprising.'' Anthony Burgess, Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English since 1939