Jack
Dale's Books
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Jack Dale was born in London in 1923. He left school at 14 and
went into the printing industry. Called up for military service
during the war, he served as a soldier in North Africa and Italy.
In 1953, he was awarded a TUC scholarship to Coleg Harlech. After
graduating from University College Cardiff, with a degree in
English Literature, he spent a year as a Teaching Fellow in the
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. Back in England, he taught
English in a number of secondary schools before becoming a school
inspector. His writing career began properly only after retirement. |
PALEFACE SQUAW an original novel, 352 pages published 2002, price £7.99. ISBN 0-9526532-2-2
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The mountain men, or beaver hunters, initiated
the exploration and exploitation of the American West long before
the gold-fields of California were discovered, before the homesteaders
trekked across the plains and before the cowboys became a legend.
In many ways they were tougher, bolder and more adventurous than
those who followed them. To stay alive they had to accommodate
themselves to a harsh climate and to the existing occupants of
the territory, the American Indians. Where they could, the mountain
men lived with the natives, sharing their lives, and their women.
No white woman joined them until Gracie Lewis turned up, to be
called, contemptuously, "nothing better than a paleface
squaw". Seventeen-years-old, reaching eighteen, this is
her tale, how she showed herself as courageous and hardy as any
man and survived, at a price, while experiencing every kind of
emotional state, from intense fear to intense love, emerging
triumphant at the end.
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WHERE
THE TREE FALLS a paperback
original, 528 pages published
1999, price £8.99. ISBN 0-9526532-1-4
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The tale follows the lives and adventures
of Mollie O'Shea and her family, particularly her adopted son,
Michael. A heroic survivor, her
story begins in 1900 when she is eighteen and is told with warmth
and passion in Book One, called "Mollie's Destiny".
Book Two recounts what happens to Michael
as he grows up in the years of political conflict between left
and right, including the second world war, and ends in 1953.
The story is about the feelings and passions of men and women
during a period as dramatic as any in the history of the human
race.
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Critical comments:
"This novel is well designed. The
tale gripped me." Stanley Middleton,
Booker Prize Winner.
"An epic novel, "Where the
Tree Falls" is a highly readable semi-autobiographical work
of fiction with historical overtones." Pete,
lead guitarist of "Red Monkey", Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
"I loved every page. I slowed up
towards the end, rationing myself because I didn't want it to
finish." Susan Stevens, from Bramhall, Cheshire, in a letter
to the author.
"Many thanks for giving me so many
hours of pleasure." Elsie Williams,
from Poole, Dorset, in a letter to author. |
THE
MAN WHO LIVED ONCE, and other stories. Paperback
original, £5.99. Published 1996, ISBN 0 9526532 0 6.
Nearly 3000 years ago, in the Iliad
of Homer, the question was asked if it were better to live nobly
like a king and die young, or live like a beggar to old age.
At the end of the second millenium, we put the question differently,
but it's the same one: how best to live life.
Some have everything, wealth, fame,
looks. Some have little but despair.
Whatever the case, time is brief for
all. These short stories present characters who live dramatically
in the present and strive vigorously to make sense of their existence.
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All the above books can
be obtained through most bookshops or via the Internet (Amazon).
Alternatively, you may send a cheque payable to Avventura Press
at 15 London Road, River, Dover, Kent. CT17 0SF, and copies will
be directly sent to you. 
"The
Man Who Lived Once" £4 (four pounds)
postage free to the UK.
"Where the Tree Falls" £6 (six
pounds) postage free to
the UK.
"Paleface Squaw" £5
(five pounds) postage free to
the UK.
All three books are available as a special
package offer of £12 (twelve pounds) which also
covers UK postage and packing.
AVVENTURA PRESS
BRAESIDE, 15 LONDON ROAD, RIVER, DOVER, KENT CT17 0SF
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