The classic story of an otter living in the Devonshire countryside which captures the feel of life in the wild as seen through the otter's own eyes.

The Dark Lantern (1951) was the first of Henry Williamson's fifteen-volume A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlightspanning the years from the late Victorian period to the Second World War. In it we meet Richard Maddison, a countryman working in London as a City clerk, struggling to make do on a few shillings a week. He falls for Hetty Turner, youngest daughter of a prosperous merchant, but her father rates Richard an unsuitable suitor. 'There is magic in Henry Williamson's novel . . . which raises it right out of the family saga class. The magic is of the steam train age of South London which is so lovingly described.' John Betjeman , Daily Telegraph '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

Henry Williamson is known for his book 'Tarka the Otter', yet his time in World War I trenches affected him profoundly. This book draws on his letters, diaries, photographs and notebooks written at the time to give us a detailed account of life in the trenches of the First World War. It also offers us a rare insight into the making of a novelist.

Experience the chilling combat of World War I from inside an early biplane in this classic novel, by a pilot who lived through the war himself. France, 1914. The war on the land is taking to the skies . . . Pilot Tom Cundall is ready to take on the enemy in his trusty Camel fighter plane. But as he sees more and more planes shot down in flames, he begins to question the war, and what, or who, he is fighting for. There is no bitter snarl nor self-pity in this classic novel about the air war of 1914-1918, based very largely on the author’s experiences. Combat, loneliness, fatigue, fear, comradeship, women, excitement—they all are part of a brilliantly told story of war and courage by one of the most valiant pilots of the then Royal Flying Corps. Praise for Winged Victory “The greatest novel of war in the air.” —The Daily Mail (UK) ‘Beautifully written with a poet’s eye as well as a pilot’s eye.” —Evening Echo (UK) “Not only one of the best war books . . . but as a transcription of reality, faithful and sustained in its author’s purpose of re-creating the past life he knew, it is unique.” —Henry Williamson, author of Tarka the Otter

Volume thirteen of A Chronicle of Ancient Sunlight. In September 1939, war with Germany casts its long shadow over the town and countryside. Phillip Maddison, now farming in East Anglia, still stubbornly believes that Hitler's chief aim is the defence of Europe against Stalin; but he is engaged in a personal war on the 'bad lands' where his farm is situated, trying to subdue mounting debts and to create a fertile yeoman holding for his family. The portrayal of his struggles, both with himself and with the land, carry total conviction, as does the picture of his life in England until the ending of the Battle of Britain. 'This astonishing sequence. It is a major mark he is making on the modern novel.' Daily Express