Farthingale

The Adventures of Henry Farthingale

Aipotu is a small town formed from an abandoned outpost of the British Empire, and has developed its own unique way of life, with its inhabitants speaking both Aipotian and a form of 'pidgin' English. The town has no electricity and has little communication with the outside world. Indeed it does not exist on any maps, and those who know about it have been sworn to secrecy about its existence. Henry Farthingale, a Professor of Languages at Camford University in Britain, has been sent there to study bird languages. He makes his home in the abandoned British Residency and soon becomes embroiled in the peculiar lives, customs and disputes of the local community. His partner is a young woman called Pavlova, who guides him through the pitfalls of love, marriage and politics. Among his adventures are a cyclone that destroys much of the town, a trip into the jungle, and encounters with a devil, a guru, a silent man, and the elusive and mysterious Sir Nicholas Spenser. The story ends with the homecoming of Aipotu scholars from all over the world.