Anna and the Black Knight

Though her short life was vividly presented in Mister God, This is Anna, its huge success led to Fynn being inundated to write more about his experiences with her. Anna and the Black Knight introduces us to Mister John, a veteran of World War I and local schoolmaster, who was to have a profound effect on Anna. Anna's astonishing capacity for looking at things from fresh perspectives, and her fascination with mathematics and Mister God, stands her in good stead as her life is opened up to new things, such as school, priests and motor cars. This sequel also includes the full text of Anna’s Book, reproductions of her own letters and writings. Her artless and transparent conversations speak to the heart and are recorded using her own unique and colourful spellings. The book is again illustrated throughout with Papas’s unequalled drawings.

‘The explosive individuality of Anna is not sentimentally touching but sometimes almost frightening. I hope that a new edition will introduce a new generation to this formidable and astonishing figure.’ Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

The identity of Fynn remains mysterious.Vernon Sproxton, in his foreword to Mister God, This Is Anna writes ‘He is who he was. He is pretending to be nobody other than himself. But a very real and permanent part of his being is – Anna.’