Three different sisters, a drunken wife-beating father who also beat them when he could catch them and a very tough life in the back streets of London’s East End in the 1920s. The girls certainly had some stories to tell, wonderful. The account of their annual hop-picking excursions into Kent is fascinating too. All in all an excellent, nostalgic period piece. ~ Sarah Broadhurst
Three sisters in 1920s Bermondsey struggle to make ends meet and protect their mother from the violence of their father. Milly, the eldest, works in Southwells jam factory. Elsie dreams of a career on the stage, while little Amy runs wild with her friends on the streets. As summer draws to a close, they join the hop pickers in Kent for a short, blissful respite from a life of work and hardship. All three of the girls fear the terrible, unforgiving temper of their father, the old man, and their courageous attempts to protect their defenceless mother will have dramatic - sometimes disastrous - consequences for them all.
Mary Gibson was born and brought up in Bermondsey, where both her grandmother and great aunt worked at Pearce Duff's factory.
She is the toast of her classmates at the Adult Education College Bexley's creative writing group after securing a three-book deal with a London publisher.Mary, 59, from Welling, isn't one to blow her own trumpet, but does confess that she hoped this book might finally succeed after failing to find a publisher for her first novel.
