An appealingly poignant story of family and lost innocence, simply yet artfully told. The opening chapter is unpretentiously descriptive, yet in a few paragraphs the author paints the four streets and its inhabitants so that they resonate vibrantly in your mind. The characters are so colourful and very real, you believe in their support, their sadness, their joy, their shame, their love. From the energetic tots through to the worldly wise Grandmother, you feel these people are known, are cared about, are loved by the author.
Dorries highlights two different families, money poor, support rich; at times slightly disconnected and disjointed, at others a well needed pillar of support and strength in the community. The author handles the unthinkable abhorrence that lurks and skulks through the story with composure and consideration; the tragedy that visits is heart rending and painful to read. One simple question remains, how far would you go to protect those you love?
A heartbreaking family saga set in 1950s Liverpool, the first novel from the stunningly talented Nadine Dorries MP.
1950s Liverpool. In the tight-knit Irish Catholic community of the Four Streets, two girls are growing up. One is motherless - and hated by the cold woman who is determined to take her dead mother's place. Will her adored father wake up to what is happening before it is too late?The other is hiding a dreadful secret which she dare not let slip to anyone, lest it rips the heart out of the community. And yet, how long can she possibly live with it? In the Four Streets there is almost nothing that a cup of tea and a good chat won't sort out. Laughing, grieving, hoping for better things - all this the people of the Four Streets can do together. But what can they do when a betrayal at the very heart of their world comes to light?
Nadine Dorriesgrew up in a working-class family in Liverpool. She spent part of her childhood living on a farm with her grandmother, and attended school in a small remote village in the west of Ireland. She trained as a nurse, then followed with a successful career in which she established and then sold her own business. She is an MP, presently serving as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department of Health and Social Care, and has three daughters.
