Jam and Roses (60 page)

‘Did the old git hurt you, Nell?’ she whispered.

‘Nah,’ Nellie lied, ‘he’s getting old and soft.’ But her palm stung as if a hot poker had been laid across it.

‘Gawd, you’re shaking, though.’

‘It’s temper, Al. I’m only shaking ’cause I can’t have a go back at the old sod.’

‘Come on, love, let me help you get changed,’ said Alice, starting to unbutton the back of her blouse.

But Nellie noticed that the two wide-eyed boys were still staring at her. Bobby, especially, looked close to tears. She knew his soft heart would not be able to manage seeing her vulnerable or in pain.

‘Go on, boys, back to kip,’ she said encouragingly. ‘I’m a tough old boot!’ She reached down to tickle Bobby and give Freddie a hug, before pulling the little curtain that separated their half of the room from the boys’ beds.

‘It’s so unfair, Al,’ she went on in a whisper. ‘He treats me like I’m still a child, but if it weren’t for me he’d have no one to cook and clean for him, or to look after the boys.’

She was seething as Alice tried to calm her.

‘Don’t leave us, Nell, will you? He’s harder on you than the rest of us and I know it’s not fair, but we’d be lost without you.’

When Nellie saw her sister’s lip trembling, she forgot her own injuries. It was easy to forget Alice was little more than a child herself.

‘Shhh, love, ’course I’m not leaving you, it’s just I think he could let me have a bit of a life.’

They didn’t dare light the lamp, so in the darkness, Alice helped Nellie out of her blouse and skirt. And when they were in bed, the sisters put their arms round each other, till they had both stopped shaking.

Available now

Grateful thanks are due to my agent Anne Williams at Kate Hordern Literary Agency and to my editor Rosie de Courcy, for their invaluable advice and expert guidance. Thanks also to all the team at Head of Zeus for their enthusiasm and dedication.

Thanks to all the Bexley Scribblers for their continued support; to Violet Henderson and Jim Munday, for their stories about life in Bermondsey before the Second World War and to Roger Metson for sharing his childhood memories of Hop Picking in Kent. I would also like to acknowledge the work of Theresa Tyrrell in preserving the oral and pictorial history of Bermondsey through the Bermondsey Memories project.

Many thanks to my ever supportive family and friends, especially to Daniel Bartholomew for giving me the character of Jimmy. Lastly, my special thanks to Josie Bartholomew, without whom this book could not have been written.

Southwells jam factory is where many of the girls work. And Milly Colman knows she’s lucky. At Southwells she can have a laugh with her mates. She’s quick and strong and never misses a day’s work. She needs to be. Because at home things are very different.

The Colman household is ruled by the tyrannical rages of the old man – her father. Often Milly feels she is the only thing standing between her mother, fey sister Elsie, defiant little Amy and his murderous violence. Autumn hop-picking in Kent gives all the Colman women a heavenly respite.

But it is here, on one golden September night, that Milly makes the mistake of her life and finds her courage and strength tested as never before.

Jam & Roses
is a wonderful saga about the lives and loves of working women between the wars, and especially of one brave, feisty girl, determined to do things her way – if she can.

Praise for

‘A fabulous, fascinating read.’
Vanessa Feltz

‘Mary Gibson is going to go a long way... a really good read’
Dee Williams

‘A story of real hardship and friendship in East London in the years leading up to World War I. A wonderful tale where family means everything.’
Lovereading

‘Cracking tale full of warmth and history.’
Bella

‘I simply couldn’t put it down. Gibson sets the bar extremely high with her first novel and I can’t wait to see what she produces next.

She is an exciting and promising new author.’
Bookbag

M
ARY
G
IBSON
was born and brought up in Bermondsey, where her grandmother worked at Pearce Duff’s factory – the setting for her first novel,
Custard Tarts and Broken Hearts
. Her mother’s family originated from the Dockhead area of Bermondsey, which is the backdrop for her second novel
Jam and Roses
.

Custard Tarts and Broken Hearts

Nellie Clark walked out of Pearce Duff’s factory, arm in arm with Lily Bosher. A crowd of women and girls shuffled around them, many linking arms, some laughing, others looking about them. Nellie herself was searching the small crowd of young men who hung about the factory gates, for one special face. One of the bolder boys took his hands from his pockets and whistled, ‘Aye, aye, boys, here come the custard tarts!’

They call them custard tarts – the girls who work at Pearce Duff’s custard powder factory in Bermondsey – ‘London’s larder’ – before the First World War. Conditions are hard, pay terrible and the hours long and unforgiving, but nothing can quench the spirit of humour and friendship – or the rising tide of anger that will finally bring the girls out on strike for a better deal.

For one of them, striking spells disaster. Nellie Clark’s wages keep her young brothers and sister from starvation, while her father sinks into drunken violence after the death of their mother.

While Nellie struggles to keep her family together, two men compete for her love, and over them looms the shadow of the coming war, which will pull London’s East End together as never before – even while it tears the world apart.

Custard Tarts and Broken Hearts
is available
here
.

We hope you enjoyed this book. We are an independent publisher dedicated to discovering brilliant books, new authors and great storytelling. Please join us at
www.headofzeus.com
and become part of our community of book-lovers.

We will keep you up to date with our latest books, author blogs, special previews, tempting offers, chances to win signed editions and much more.

If you have any questions, feedback or just want to say hi, lease drop us a line on
[email protected]

    @HoZ_Books

    HeadofZeusBooks