a b Gagehabib, La Verne; Summerhawk, Barbara (2000). Circles of Power: Shifting Dynamics in a Lesbian-centered community. Norwich, VT: New Victoria Publishers. ISBN 1-892281-13-9. a b c "N.C. Schools Employ Radical Lesbian Who Called Marriage 'Slavery' for Women". The Other McCain. 2015-05-25 . Retrieved 2022-11-10. During Marga’s appointment process, she impressed everybody during her presentation with her research topic, the history of exploration, but most of all with her language ability. Latin, ancient Greek, Spanish, Italian, French and bits of German amongst them. Whenever we met, she usually greeted me with a friendly ‘Wie gehts?’. These two words and the tone in which she asked expressed Marga’s whole personality: genuine, warm and interested. This is how I experienced her as a colleague, without any sense of attitude or entitlement, totally reliable and always willing to help and do her part in the School’s routine work and events. DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Bonnier Audio UK for an audio ARC of The Vanishing of Margaret Small, written by Neil Alexander and narrated by Annie Aldington, for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions. I first encountered Margaret during my undergraduate studies, but it was during my masters that I properly got to know her as my personal tutor. Starting a masters in the middle of the pandemic was a difficult experience but Margaret was exactly what we needed in a tutor, and she went above and beyond what was expected of her. She was not only a source of professional support but an increasingly kind, caring, and considerate academic who took it upon herself to ensure that we still had a wonderful experience in difficult circumstances. Our personal tutor meetings were intellectually stimulating, and she brought with it, her passion for the discipline and incredible breadth of knowledge.

Told in two timelines, this story is an intensely emotional journey with top-notch characterizations. It's impossible not to love Margaret, as she's definitely the one who holds this story together. She may be a bit slow but she has an inner beauty that's impossible to resist. There are some memorable secondary characters as well, both good and bad. Wayne was among my favourites. I will miss Marga enormously, for so many reasons: her humanity; her constancy; her cheer; her memorable facebook updates; and her unfailing ability to get into improbable tussles with the Arts Building lifts and almost every unfortunate piece of technology she ever laid hands on. She was my only fellow-bearer of a Celtic accent in the department; she was almost my twin in terms of birthdate. The loss is deeply painful, personally and professionally. Worse still, I keep wanting to turn to Marga, because it’s in this very sort of situation that she’d be such a tremendous strength. The agony of her own family, especially Joel, Clara and Douglas, is worst of all though. Marga and Joel were one of the best-matched couples I know; they adored each other, and together had created one of the most loving, happy families I’ve ever seen. Their loss is beyond all description. My only hope is that in time, that pain of loss is somewhat tempered by happy memories of an amazing wife and mother whose legacy is one of pure goodness and love.I've read similar books before (Grace Henderson Says it Loud) but Margaret makes an eloquent narrator and her story has extra dimensions outside of the 'care home' scenario, that make this a touching and rather memorable audiobook. Margaret Small was "vanished” to a long-term care facility for children with learning disabilities when she was seven years old by the Rat Catcher (Mr. Gray). She had been living with her maternal grandmother prior to being "vanished". Can you even imagine sending a young child away to an institution? My heart broke for her. Her story takes a few unforeseen directions (and some you can see coming). It's a good look into some hard truths about our social care system. And ultimately an uplifting story about a woman treated badly but coming out the other side with her dignity and humour intact. The Vanishing of Margaret Small is the first novel by British author, Neil Alexander. The audio version is narrated by Annie Aldington and Rachel Atkins. In 1947, at the age of seven, Margaret Small is collected without explanation from her grandmother’s home by a man she dubs The Rat Catcher.

We lost an incredible friend and colleague and my thoughts are with Joel, Clara and Douglas, who lost so much more. I first met Marga in 2007, when I was the external on an interview panel for a lectureship in History. Even in the stressful circumstances of a job presentation and interview, Marga was warm and instantly likeable, and she showed an impressive ability to weather the challenges of dodgy technology and somehow keep smiling. I was delighted when she joined the University a few months later, just at the time when, with the launch of the interdisciplinary CREMS seminar, early modernists in History and my own department, English, were developing new opportunities to work together. I found myself reading widely about it as I flew through the book, and I am thrilled to welcome Neil to the Embla list,” she said. “The combination of his experience at Mencap and his prodigious talent and warmth as a writer and storyteller are truly exciting. We believe his début has the potential to be for learning disability awareness what Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey (Penguin) was for dementia.” There is a twist towards the end of the book, it did not come as a surprise to me. I was pretty sure I had figured it out along the way. But that did not detract from the story at all. Throughout, I only wanted the best for Margaret. But, then, I found out that I had not figured it out. What a lovely surprise! The real twist was way better than what I had in mind. I was seven years old when they vanished me. The Rat Catcher done it. He stole me from Grandma. In the beginning, you see, I lived with Grandma, for Mother had died soon after I was born.Earlier this month we learned of the death of our colleague and friend Dr Margaret (Marga) Small. Colleagues and students within and beyond the School of History and Cultures are devastated by the loss of a wonderful scholar, an inspirational teacher, and a most dedicated citizen of her Department, School, College and University. I honestly found it so hard to hear what she had endured as a child in St Mary’s and I don’t think I can have hated a character more than Nurse Cunningham! The sad fact of the matter is that whilst this book is a work of fiction it is based on real stories and my heart breaks to think of what people with disabilities, physically or mentally, went through in the 1940s-1980s. As Margaret tells us her story I wanted someone to help her and give her the life she deserved. Whether it was Joan, Eva or kind Sandra, the people she trusted kept abandoning her and each time my heart broke a little more for her. The Vanishing of Margaret Small is a story that tore at my heart, had me shedding tears in places, but also had me laughing out loud in others.