A Drake at the Door

The Minack Chronicles #3

by Derek Tangye

HARDCOVER WITH DJ , ULVERSCROFT LARGE PRINT EDITION, PRINTED IN ENGLAND, ,

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, British Literature

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

During WWII, Derek Tangye worked for MI5 (the U.K.'s domestic counter-intelligence and security agency) and, after the war, he worked as a newspaper columnist. His wife, Jeannie Nicol Tangye, was a hotel PR executive. They both left their jobs in the city to move to a simple cottage on a flower farm in Cornwall.

Reviews

[Diane in Australia · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of Derek Tangye's book are so awesome. He knows exactly how to combine a love of animals, enjoyment of the country life, and philosophical whimsies. In this one we get to know Boris, a Muscovy duck, a bit better ... plus, there are always other animals, and antics, to relate tales about, too.

Derek was a newspaper columnist (during WWII he worked for MI5) and his wife, Jeannie, was a hotel PR executive, before they gave it all up to move into a simple cottage on a clifftop, and raise daffodils. Their home was near St. Buryan, in Cornwall, England.

This book is one of many he wrote about their life.

5 Stars = Exceptional. It made a significant impact.

[Liz Letcher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining and honest

[Lynne Easy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was written some time ago so is a little dated and slow paced. An ok read.

[Karen GoatKeeper · Rating 3 out of 5]

What is it like to grow flowers for the commercial market? That is what the Tangyes decided to do, leaving their posh jobs in London for the Cornwall coast.
The couple have several people working for them. Each is interesting.
If you are reading the book to meet the drake named Bruno, skip to fifty pages from the end. None of the animals touted on the cover really make an appearance in the first half of the book.
Evidently the book covers many years. It's hard to tell as incidents go forward and back. And the time elapsed is never really set out except as a mention somewhere in the incident being described.
The book is easy reading, drifts along, tells a great deal about conditions living along the Cornish coast with its winter storms and tiny cultivated meadows. It mentions how and why the commercial markets for flowers and vegetables change from individual growers fighting the elements to get a crop to greenhouses and large scale production.

[Mark H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully observed and written. Derek and Jeannie’s attempts at making a living off of a small farm in Cornwall, having given up their jobs in London, may not seem an interesting subject. But the suspense of whether each endeavour is a success, after all their hard work, is unbearable. The lives of their friends and colleagues in a small village, as well as the animals who visit them and their pets,
provide daily joy and regular tragedies, in this the saddest chapter so far of their new lives in the country.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume is sad and beautiful. The deep sadness at death of the young girl. The sadness that escaping the rat race isn’t necessarily an escape from “the system”. Have to find out what happened to Jane!

[Dr Susan Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Minack series of books are delightful but this one is sad too with the loss at the end of Shelagh one of the indispensable helps on the Tangye farm. Plenty of human anecdotes as well as animals. The sketches charming if not up to the usual standard.

[jean sargent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book so expertly written, brought back many happy memories of Cornwall especially the names i knew such as Marazion and Penzance. Great book if any one loves Cornwall and nature.

[Rachel Wakeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1963, this book is slow and outdated. Good information on farming different products though. It didn't keep my attention.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Every day of our lives was spent in unison with this coast, the rage of the gales, salt smearing our faces as we walked, east winds, south winds, calm summer early mornings, the first cubs, a badger in the moonlight, wild violets, the glory of the first daffodil, the blustering madness of making a living in land that face the roar of ages. These were the passages of our years. Glorious, hurting, awakening us to the splendour of living. But the philistines. They nose. They want to disturb. Yet they are blind to beauty. They glance at our coast as they rush by. They want to see a path on the map. That is their object. Everything must confirm. No time to pause. Hurry, hurry, hurry … we have another two miles to go”

[Zareen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely enjoyable & extremely readable.
Jeannie & Derek Tangye leave London to start a new life as flower growers in Cornwall. They are sometimes in conflict with trying to make ends meet & chilling out & enjoying the unpressurised life of Cornwall without the use of heavy machinery.
Their relationships with their employees, especially Jane & Shelagh are extremely important & Jeannie & Derek work at making them an on-going reality.