Books with author christianna brand

Mr and Mrs Brown are always having great difficulty with their numerous and incredibly naughty children. They try all the agencies but the nurses, governesses and nannies never stay long with the Brown children. 'The person you want is Nurse Matilda,' they are told. And when Nurse Matilda does arrive very strange things begin to happen. Brought together in one volume are the three remarkable tales of Nurse Matilda - Nurse Matilda, Nurse Matilda Goes to Town and Nurse Matilda Goes to Hospital. Having delighted generations of readers since their first publication in the sixties, the books have now formed the inspiration for the newly-released and fabulous Nanny McPhee, written and adapted for the big screen by Emma Thompson who stars as Nanny McPhee opposite Colin Firth as Mr Brown. This collection of stories from Christianna Brand is sure to charm and entertain all readers new and old.

Christo Brand was a South African farm boy, born into the Afrikaans culture which had created apartheid, a racial system designed to persecute black people while claiming superiority for white people. Nelson Mandela, the black son of a tribal chief, also raised in a rural village, trained as a lawyer to take up the fight against apartheid on behalf of a whole nation. Their opposing worlds collided when Christo, a raw recruit from the country's prison service, was sent to Robben Island to guard the notoriously dangerous terrorists; Mandela was their undisputed leader.The two of them, a boy of 19 and a long-suffering freedom fighter then aged 60, should have become bitter enemies. Instead they formed an extraordinary friendship through small human kindnesses; Christo, a gentle young man who valued ordinary decency and courtesy, struck a chord with the wise and resilient freedom fighter - a man who was prepared to die if necessary to liberate his people.As an African tribesman family was a priority for Mandela and he knew that his life imprisonment meant that he might never be able to live with them again. When his mother died he was refused permission to go to her funeral - as the eldest son, Mandela held a great responsibility towards her, and he wept with shame and despair. Christo was witness to that despair many times during his years as Mandela's personal prison warder. He knew the heartbreak he suffered at never being able to see his children. So, when Winnie secretly brought their tiny granddaughter to Robben Island it was Christo who risked his own freedom to put the baby in Mandela's arms for a few moments.Their friendship was sealed by many such shared moments; sometimes merely a gesture or a smile, at other times an act of generosity which could have cost Christo his job. This bond of trust endured between the two men long after Mandela was freed. As President of South Africa he invited Christo into his home, advised his son Riaan on his career and gave Christo a job in the Constitutional Assembly in Parliament, drawing up the country's new laws. Shortly before passing away he called for Christo again for the final time - to say goodbye. In this book Christo tells, for the first time, the incredible and moving story of their unlikely friendship.

Pub Date: 2014-03-03 Pages: 288 Language: English Publisher: John Blake Publishing Ltd Christo Brand was a South African farm boy. born into the Afrikaans culture which had created apartheid to persecute black people and claim superiority for whites Nelson Mandela. . also raised in a rural village. was the black son of a tribal chief. He trained as a lawyer to take up the fight against apartheid on behalf of a whole nation. Their opposing worlds collided when Christo. a raw recruit from the countrys prison service. was sent to Robben Island to guard the notoriously dangerous terrorists there. Mandela was their undisputed leader. The two of them. a boy of 18 and a long-suffering freedom fighter then aged 60. could well have become bitter enemies. Instead. they formed an extraordinary friendship through small human kindnesses. Christo. a gentle young man who valued ordinary de...

Nelson Mandela as he has never been seen before. His life s sacrifices recounted in vivid detail by the prison guard with whom he became lifelong friends.Raised in a multi-ethnic farming community, Afrikaner Christo Brand was confused and saddened when he first confronted the realities of South African apartheid. Conscripted into the military at 18, Brand chose to serve as a prison guard rather than embrace the brutality and danger inherent in the work of soldiers and policemen. Assigned to the maximum security facility on remote Robben Island, Brand was given charge of the country''s most infamous inmate: Nelson Mandela.For 12 years Brand watched Mandela scrub floors, empty his toilet bucket, grieve over the deaths of family and friends yet remain as strong as any freedom fighter in history. Won over by Madiba''s charm and authentic concern for the well-being of others, Brand became Mandela''s confidante and at times accomplice. Celebrating triumphs and suffering through many setbacks, the two men formed an unlikely bond, one that would endure until Mandela''s death.Told with candor and reverence, Mandela: My Prisoner, My Friend is both a meditation on friendship and a moving testament to the dedication, determination and most of all humanity exuded by one of the world''s great leaders.