Hammers Over the Anvil

Alan Marshall grew up observing and recording life in a Victorian country town, writing about it with humour and compassion. In this collection of short stories we watch the young Alan growing up in country Turalla. Crippled by polio at an early age, he has to use crutches, knowing that he'll never be able to pursue his great love-horse-riding. His disability does not stop the young boy from roaming the countryside with his mate Joe, however, all the time scribbling in his notebook about the intriguing lives of the people he meets, and trying to make sense of the world around him.