The Phoenix Rises: Medley of Prose and Poetry

About the Book

Sixteen very different stories from two pages long to novella length. They vary in plot and atmosphere: frivolous, serious, happy, sad and some mysterious. Why the broken marble hand at the feet of the exquisite statue? A New York taxi driver as a lover? Eileen becomes Venus in the ruins of Baalbek. Revenge in an orchid greenhouse below the Berkshire Downs; burning of witches in Medieval England, and others. Like the Phoenix, memories are rekindled. Tanya Turton adds fascinating biographical snippets of her life experiences to form a “second layer” to the tales. These details are written in an informal, relaxed style different to that used for the stories and include illustrations. Born in Beirut, Lebanon of Russian parents, with an American education and British nationality, she uses her rich background to add variety to her writing. The book also includes a medley of poems and doggerels which are as diverse as her stories. They range from picturesque descriptions to emotional outbursts. A poignant dirge is in contrast to a light-hearted doggerel for Valentine’s day, a dreary day in Brooklyn, a greeting to a son in Calgary. A book with a flavour to suit every mood!

About the Author

Born in Lebanon, Tanya Turton grew up in an international milieu- parents Russian, education American. When working in the United Nations in New York, she met her future husband, an Englishman, and became British through marriage. Her career, besides being a mother of four, was in exhibiting and teaching art as well as in writing: medical copywriting, articles for a local magazine and as editor and PR officer for a pharmaceutical association. In the latter job she developed a syndicated UK newspaper column which, according to an independent estimate, achieved a readership of about twelve million.