Saddler Street is like many of the other little backstreets of Bermondsey, with its row of two-up, two-down terraced houses standing in the shadow of Allen's Wharf. Number 5 is home to the Johnson family, but the atmosphere inside the four walls is not always as happy as the neighbours may think. Lana Johnson -- young, intelligent and strikingly attractive -- is getting serious with the local small-time villain, Ben Ferris. And everyone except Lana herself is sure that the match will end in tears. Next door to the Johnsons lives Lottie Curtis, a kind-hearted widow they have taken under their wing. For decades Lottie has been foster mother to children from broken homes. Only Jimmy Bailey has ever demonstrated in a practical way the debt he owed to Lottie -- until the war intervened and he was called up. But it's 1946 and Lottie is facing her eightieth birthday alone. When Jimmy, now demobbed, teams up with Lana to organise a reunion of all the old lady's children as a birthday treat, there's more than one surprise in store...
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Harry Bowling was born in Bermondsey, London, and left school at fourteen to supplement the family income as an office boy in a riverside provisions' merchant. He was called up for National Service in the 1950s. Before becoming a writer, he was variously employed as a lorry driver, milkman, meat cutter, carpenter and decorator, and community worker. He lived with his wife and family, dividing his time between Lancashire and Deptford. We at Headline are sorry to say that THE WHISPERING YEARS was Harry Bowling's last novel, as he very sadly died in February 1999. We worked with him for over ten years, ever since the publication of his first novel, CONNER STREET'S WAR, and we miss him enormously, as do his many, many fans around the world. \n \nThe Harry Bowling Prize is aimed at encouraging new, unpublished fiction and is sponsored by Headline. Click on the website link for more information.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
London Pride,
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This review is from: One More for Saddler Street (Hardcover)
This story of close neigbours, living side by side in Bermondsey, a heavily congested riverside area of London's east end, is an unpretentious, down to earth tale of life, where most of the men work as dock labourers, and the women make do as best as they can. It's set immediately following WW2, with rival gangs warring amonst themselves to gain the upper hand in controlling the area. The newest contenders for the role of neighbourhood bosses, are the Maltese community who are moving into the area in great numbers and threatening to take over from local villains. Lottie Curtis is about to celebrate her 80th birthday, so her closest friends decide to try to locate the 10 young children whom she fostered so lovingly, at different times, over the years. It's a simple tale of love, fortitude, villainy and forbearance and, as a read, is a change from more sophisticated and involved stories of life, and what I call a good filler-in book.
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