{"title":"Belinda Probert","description":"\u003cp\u003eBelinda Probert's works offer a unique blend of personal insight and imaginative storytelling, inviting readers into captivating explorations of life and memory. Her writing often delves into the nuances of relationships and identity, weaving narrative threads that are both reflective and vivid.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRooted in themes from \u003cem\u003eBiography \u0026amp; Memoir\u003c\/em\u003e to \u003cem\u003eHome \u0026amp; Garden\u003c\/em\u003e, Probert's books balance intimate storytelling with thoughtful observations on everyday spaces and experiences. Readers can expect a thoughtful journey through the intersections of self and surroundings.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"bills-secrets-by-belinda-probert-9780645984040","title":"Bill's Secrets","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA father presents as an English gentleman and war hero to his wife and subsequent children, who only catch up with the truth of his impoverished Welsh beginnings after his death. His daughter ponders this singular life in the context of a changing Britain in the 20th century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMajor Bill Probert emerged from the Second World War a decorated war hero and a gifted linguist in the Intelligence Corps. He met the love of his life, a beautiful Oxford graduate, when they were both posted to the Allied Control Commission occupying Vienna in 1945. He was a cultured and ambitious Englishman, with no living family of his own.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAfter a successful international business career, Bill retires at 59, only to reinvent himself first as a fly fisherman and farmer in Wales, and then—for the last decade of his life—as a resident of the Bearn, lover of the Pyrenees, and everything French.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFour months after he was buried in St Faust de Haut, a letter arrives for him, announcing that his nephew Denzil from Brecon in Wales has finally found him and is coming to visit. Bill's wife and children were about to learn that Bill began life as Roy, in an impoverished Welsh mining family in the Rhondda. His mother and three siblings were alive and well when his children were born.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWhy did Roy decide to become Bill and erase Wales and his family? Thirty years after his death, it was time to unearth his many secrets. This is the story of a daughter's hunt for her perplexing and unpredictable father.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eBill's Secrets\u003c\/em\u003e by Belinda Probert unravels these intriguing mysteries, offering a profound exploration of identity and familial discovery.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46370029371628,"sku":"9780645984040","price":34.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/27285973482417.jpg?v=1744802938"},{"product_id":"imaginative-possession-by-belinda-probert-9780645076301","title":"Imaginative Possession","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSeeking ways to understand her chosen continent better, Belinda Probert bought a rural property outside of Melbourne to observe the land more closely and learn how to garden differently.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHow do we understand a country?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAt a time when many easy assumptions about how we live and how our society functions are being questioned, there is room for contemplation of a country that is ancient, occupied for at least sixty thousand years, and young, a national federation for only twelve decades. Belinda Probert, a migrant from England, sets out to question in words and action how well she understands the landscapes she has seen and the people that have shaped them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eShe takes with her a set of writers who have asked the same questions, or provided interpretations of our sense of belonging, to test their words against her own emerging views. Wondering how a nation of immigrants can fully settle here, she decided she needed to buy a property in the 'country' so she could observe it more closely, and learn to garden differently. Trees fell on her, ants bit her, bowerbirds stole her crops, but from the exercise, she discovers much more about soil, trees, water, animals and protecting herself from fire emergencies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDriving back and forth, she learns to see the ancient heritage all around us, and rural industries that have destroyed and created so much.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eImaginative Possession\u003c\/em\u003e opens a dialogue on the complexities of understanding and belonging in a land marked by both its ancient heritage and its relatively recent status as a national entity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Penguin Random House NZ","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47424350552300,"sku":"9780645076301","price":32.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780645076301.jpg?v=1774768634"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/belinda-probert.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}