Books
Author’s Note:
I wrote the book “LEO” (or !LEO in San language) during the COVID 19 lockdown between March and August 2020. Based on my own experiences, it was my idea to write this as a fictional novel to reach the everyday person on the street, at airports, train journeys and on holiday, that would get the message across about the atrocities happening to the magnificent wildlife in Africa today.
With the Kalahari in her heart and its dust in her hair, Leonora Baring leaves with the TV crew, bumping south on the long road to Cape Town and then home to London. She knows her heart will ache with worry about the Bushmen she has come to understand and love. The image of a particular friend, Kalai, a beautiful young woman and mother, standing behind the vehicle to say goodbye, makes Leonora’s eyes prickle. Kalai had come back all the way to camp after having been taken deep into the desert to give birth, just to see them one last time.
Making the documentary on the Bushmen for the TV programme, Total Exposure, had been just another exciting assignment. This is, until Leonora had come to know the players; these beautiful nomads who had such deep history and intricate social systems. Kalai, having been largely ostracised by the group, because of her relationship with the Other, had been a fascinating study in itself.
During a stop on the long drive, Leonora hears a noise in the back of the Land Rover and discovers with shock, a tiny new-born baby wrapped in cloths and animal skins – Kalai’s new-born. The Bushmen had left, as they do, to move onto fresh territory and the crew had pressing deadline obligations in London. But these matters are incidental only to Leonora’s resolve to give Kalai’s baby the fighting chance his mother recognised she could give him. She is determined to take him to London, whatever it takes.
Railing in anger and against his better judgement, Jamie – Leonora’s Director, helps her. Falsified documentation and a good deal of palm greasing, and they make it happen. Baby Leo flies home with Leonora and his remarkable story unfolds.
“I loved your book so much because of all the history you had researched so brilliantly – I have photos of the King and Queen, Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret when they stayed in Bechuanaland with my Uncle and Aunt. My Uncle could speak all the African languages including !San – so the book was really interesting for me . . . ” – Linda Swart
“Leo was a wonderful read taking me into the magical but harsh world of Southern Africa. This book captures some of those contradictions which are not easy to understand. Christine’s books capture some of the most beautiful places in Africa, and also the problems which face the saving of some of its most iconic and irreplaceable species and habitats. Highly recommended . . .” – Gill Simpson
“Christine’s adventure fiction “Leo” is well-written with a consistent and absorbing narrative. . .” – Olympia Publishers
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Karen Hartley is a charismatic agent in the British Secret Intelligence Service. She and fellow SIS agent, Fiona Mossop, are assigned to investigate a syndicate operating between England, South Africa and the Far East, engaged in the illegal poaching of rhino horn.
Mark Warner, a South African banker and wildlife writer, is also a SIS agent in Africa and recruits Karen and Fiona to identify the heads of the syndicate after his wife, an ecologist and anti-poaching campaigner, is murdered whilst researching the slaughter of rhino in Africa.
Fuelled by power and greed, the syndicate lures poor Mozambican males over the border, and with machete in hand, they hack the horn off the rhino be it dead or alive, pushing the price of rhino horn to an alarming commodity more expensive than gold, diamonds and heroin.
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This is an autobiography about living in St Ives in the 1960s which was a time of beatniks, hippies, Flower Power and bohemia. Artist friends and contemporaries include Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Patrick Heron, John Milne, singer Donovan, songwriter Betty Newsinger.
With the Tate St Ives Museum winning the prestigious ‘Museum of the Year’ award in 2018, and seeing friends’ and contemporaries’ (no longer alive) artwork hanging in the Tate – prompted Christine to write this book – encouraged by the curator of another well-known gallery in St Ives. She is one of the few people alive who knew and lived amongst them as friends. This is a memoir of their lives in the 60s and beyond.
The book tells the story of the early lives of some remarkable local Cornish artists, writers, poets, potters, sculptors and musicians, and it reveals some unique insights into their hardships and successes.
“A beautiful memoir of time spent re-discovering the 60s and the creative freedom of those years. Written with descriptions that made faces and places come alive – a thoroughly enjoyable read . . . ” – Bella Schellhorn
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This is a true story that spans the sweeping account of a unique affair between two women. In the face of adversity and against all odds, the relationship blossomed immeasurably and thrived happily. Christine, a 59 year-old English lady, meets 33 year-old and lovely Alexandra, in Cape Town in 2002. Alexandra is working in a high-powered job and visiting Christine’s neighbour in Simon’s Town for Christmas. The women are introduced and mutual attraction overtakes them which neither has experienced before.
This book encompasses a love story, covert undercover work, and making the most of given opportunities and achievements. It is about late love and immense happiness, and covers the complete gambit of human emotion and the human spirit.
Author’s Note:
“Intimate and beguiling, Farrington weaves her life from the cotton mills of the north of England to Cornwall and eventually to where she comes truly alive, in Africa. Beautifully written – I could not put this book down . . . ” – Olive Falls The Irishman
“A heartfelt story about the relationship between two women who meet in South Africa – an unputdownable read for me . . .” – Dawn Richards Shelley Park