Both Sides of the Fence

Lesley Drinkwater

Available: Out now

Description

Set initially in Lancashire in the late twenties, this story follows the early life and Vicissitudes of Tim who, shortly after birth, was fostered out by his mother to a poor, socially deprived family, in Blackpool.

Unable, or unwilling, to cope with her illegitimate offspring, Tim’s mother made for the brighter lights of London, ostensibly to seek work. But there was always a mystery surrounding the boy’s father, his background, whereabouts and profession.

While essentially an autobiography, the author’s memories are distilled in the form of an exciting and absorbingly interesting novel. Indeed, the book is a good read and without doubt will constitute a valuable record of social history, especially regarding the socio-economic conditions prevailing just before, during and after WWII. The eye-witness accounts of the London Blitz, the strafing of a key aerodrome by low-flying Nazi planes, and the daily onslaught of V1 ‘doodlebugs’, and the vicissitudes of the young boy as he is shunted from foster-parent to foster-parent and finds his way in life and society, places the reader in the cut and thrust of day-to-day survival during this vital time in recent English history. The graphic character sketches and colourful dialogue adds both verisimilitude and entertainment to the narrative.

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