Raised in a creative hub on the Suffolk coast by an artist and a ballet dancer, Anna Fargher read English Literature at Goldsmiths before working in the British art world and opening her own gallery. The Umbrella Mouse is her first book, which she wrote on her iPhone notepad during her daily commute on the London Underground. She splits her time between London and Suffolk where she is often found exploring the coastline and marshlands under the huge East Anglian skies.
For older readers, the exquisite story of a mouse orphaned in the London blitz. Animals are easily sentimentalised in fiction, but Fargher invests her hero with the complexity of a human being, while minutely observing his rodent tics. * Sunday Telegraph - Books of the Year * The wartime background is vivid and completely convincing and Pip and her animal comrades are beguiling characters. Original adventure from an exciting new author * Lovereading4kids * A beautifully imagined wartime adventure with the bravest of heroines. -- Claire Fayers, author of <i>The Accidental Pirates</i> [A]n alternative narrative that is both immersive and engaging making this a potential modern day classic that KS2 children and older will truly enjoy * Armadillo Magazine * Brims with courage, friendship and adventure * Bookseller * A stunning debut novel . . . Fargher's skill is to invest her hero with the complexity of a human being * The Oldie * Move over War Horse . . . [an] enchanting first novel . . . beautifully written * Telegraph * An exquisite children's book -- <i>Telegraph, </i>50 best books of 2019 A spellbinding tale of bravery and hope, where courage is found in the smallest of heroes -- Gill Lewis, author of <i>Sky Hawk</i> An ambitious and wonderfully well-achieved first novel. -- Michael Morpurgo, author of <i>War Horse</i>