Bristol, 1942, and following the death of her controlling husband, Margaret Routledge is no longer the downtrodden church mouse she once was. Now she’s the talk of the Close, frequenting seedy pubs and clubs where men gather to pick up good-time girls. It seems Margaret is past redemption until she sees neighbour Jenny Crawford’s headstrong […]
Shameful Secrets on Coronation Close by Lizzie Lane
The year is 1937 and the country is still reeling from the abdication of King Edward the Eighth the year before. His brother, the Duke of York, has become King George the Sixth and will be crowned in May. The country is on a high. Union Jacks are being dusted off and bunting is being […]
Homes for heroes: the council house revolution
There’s no reason to be snobbish about council houses, says Lizzie Lane. For the people who moved into the first ones, built in the interwar period, they were the clean and comfortable ‘homes for heroes’ they’d been promised – far better than the crowded, pest-infected slums they left behind. Sturdy semi detached and terraced houses […]