Janni Howker’s books have achieved an international reputation and have been of great interest to English teachers in Australia in recent years. Set in the north west of England, Howker's work deals with the difficulties of childhood, growing up and family life. This study guide offers a variety of approaches to three of her books. Section One deals with Howker's first novel, The Nature of the Beast, which describes the effects of unemployment on a close community which is shattered by the closure of the local mill. Section Two suggests activities for work on Badger on the Barge, her very successful collection of short stories which deal with relationships between the young and old and gender dynamics in families, and Section Three has work on her historical novel Isaac Campion, a powerful study of a feud between two horse-dealing families at the end of the nineteenth century.

Section Four is called 'Wider Reading' and is designed to enable students to work independently on a Janni Howker 'author study' or 'genre analysis', or to pursue further reading related to particular issues raised by her books. This section also includes an interesting and informative interview with the writer and a useful collection of press reviews of her books.

A4 48pp ISBN 0 907016 31 6

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