Ma, He Sold Me for a Few Cigarettes

Martha Long

$24.99

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Mainstream Publishing
02 June 2008

Biography; Autobiography: general

A heart-rending memoir of a deprived childhood in 1950s and '60s Dublin that will both horrify and inspire

Born a bastard to a teenage mother in the slums of 1950s Dublin, Martha has to be a fighter from the very start.

As her mother moves from man to man, and more children follow, they live hand-to-mouth in squalid, freezing tenements, clothed in rags and forced to beg for food. But just when it seems things can't get any worse, her mother meets Jackser.

Despite her trials, Martha is a child with an irrepressible spirit and a wit beyond her years. She tells the story of her early life without an ounce of self-pity and manages to recreate a lost era in which the shadow of the Catholic Church loomed large and if you didn't work, you didn't eat.

Martha never stops believing she is worth more than the hand she has been dealt, and her remarkable voice will remain with you long after you've finished the last line.

By: Martha Long
Imprint: Mainstream Publishing
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 194mm, Width: 130mm, Spine: 34mm
Weight: 340g
ISBN: 9781845963132
ISBN 10: 184596313X
Pages: 480
Publication Date: 02 June 2008
Audience: General/trade , Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , ELT Advanced , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Martha Long was born in Dublin in the early 1950s and still lives there today. She calls herself a 'middle-aged matron' and has successfully reared three children.

Reviews for Ma, He Sold Me for a Few Cigarettes

Stands head and shoulders above everything else in the category ... a remarkable personal and literary achievement for the author and an unforgettable experience for the reader Irish Independent [Long's] story is unique in its rawness and its honesty. Entirely self-educated, she narrates her own life in a way which is both riveting and moving Greenock Telegraph Without question the most harrowing tale I have ever read. Even Charles Dickens, whom we appreciate for being the voice of so many abused children, is left in the dust -- Alice Walker, Author Of The Color Purple