The Snow Goose

A new edition of a beautiful, poignant classic with stunning illustrations from acclaimed illustrator Angela Barrett.

The Snow Goose is a picture-book nirvana . . . This is the sort of stylish, sophisticated stuff you might want to keep for yourself

Inspired pastel reimagining of Paul Gallico's World War classic

A most impressive, newly illustrated edition of this clear and simple, yet powerful, tale of an outsider

A story that could have been written for Angela Barrett to illustrate . . . This is Barrett at her consummate best. 5 stars

Haunting and lyrical tale of love and loss and courage . . . A classic tale for every generation

Paul William Gallico was born in New York City in 1897. He was one of the most well-known sporting writers in America, and a minor celebrity. But he had always wanted to be a fiction writer and eventually retired from sports writing and went to live in Europe to devote himself to writing novels and short stories.Though his name was well-known in the United States, he was unknown to the rest of the world until 1941, when The Snow Goose was published. He died in Antibes in 1976, just short of his 79th birthday. 
 
Angela Barrett studied illustration at the Royal College of Art and after graduating in 1980, she began an acclaimed career in children's book illustration. Angela won the Smarties Award in 1988. She lives in London.

Philip Rhayader lives alone in an abandoned lighthouse on the desolate Great Marsh of Essex. One afternoon, a hauntingly beautiful child, Fritha, visits Rhayader, bringing with her an injured snow goose. At first Fritha is scared of Rhayader, with his sinister hump and crooked hand, but he is gentle and kind and Fritha begins to visit regularly. When the snow goose departs for home, Rhayader is left alone again. 
 
The following winter, the snow goose and Fritha return to the lighthouse. Time passes and one year Fritha is frightened to discover her feelings for Rhayader. But this is 1940 and Rhayader is setting sail for Dunkirk to help the soldiers trapped on the beaches. Fritha never sees Rhayader again. But the story of the saviour with the snow goose passes from soldier to soldier and into legend . . .

The Snow Goose and The Small Miracle

The Snow Goose is the classic story of Dunkirk and a world-wide bestseller.

Paul Gallico was born in New York City in 1897. He worked on The New York Daily News before moving to Salcombe in South Devon where he began to write novels. Gallico wrote over forty books including the famous story, The Poseidon Adventure. He died in 1976.

Classic storytelling from a bestselling author. Gallico's most famous story, THE SNOW GOOSE, is set in the wild, desolate Essex marshes and is an intense and moving tale about the relationship between a hunchback and a young girl. THE SMALL MIRACLE is a contemporary fable about a young boy's love for his dangerously ill donkey.

Paul Gallico

Steven Mackintosh

Georgia Groome

Deborah Findlay

Full Cast

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Paul Gallico’s ‘The Snow Goose’ by Nick Warburton, starring Steven Mackintosh.  When 'Open Book' asked various authors to champion a favourite neglected classic on the programme, Michael Morpurgo chose 'The Snow Goose'; perhaps no surprise, with his own story 'War Horse' depicting a friendship between a boy and his horse which takes them both into the horror of World War I.  In ‘The Snow Goose’, A wounded bird brings together a disfigured artist and a young girl on the eve of World War II.  With Steven Mackintosh as Philip Rhayader, Georgia Groome as Fritha, Deborah Findlay as Mrs Farnes and Sam Dale as the storyteller. Also featuring Michael Shelford, Malcolm Tierney and David Seddon. Directed by Sally Avens.

Paul Gallico

The Snow Goose

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