A CUCKOO IN CANDLE LANE by KITTY NEALE

 A CUCKOO IN CANDLE LANE

by

KITTY NEALE

THE BLURB:

She stepped into the narrow hall, eyes clouding when she saw her dad's coat hanging on the rack. Sick with disappointment, she crept upstairs to her room, clambered into bed, and curled into a tight ball under the thin blankets...

In 1953 Elsie and Bert Jones move to Candle Lane full of hope for the future. Although Elsie desperately misses their comfortable house in Wimbledon, she is determined to make a success of her new life.

They are a warm-hearted family, and Elsie soon makes friends with her less fortunate neighbour Ruth and her daughter Sally. But before long Elsie realises that all is not well in the house next door...

THE REALITY:

Another south-London-based book, when it didn't seem so long ago that I'd just read one. I'm from north of the Thames, so am a bit unfamiliar with life there; although I have ventured to those parts before (crikey, I'm making it sound like it's the other side of the world!) In fact, the other side of the world does feature, when Arthur (spoiler alert!) briefly emigrates to Australia but returns home when he suspects he's the father of Sally's baby...

Enough of the skipping ahead and, seeing where the book was going, I did kind of do that with a flick through, so settled down to finish the novel properly. I do like the way history (the Queen's coronation) and social history (the advent of post-war council housing) intertwines with this book, but then it wouldn't make sense for it to be written any other way. I do like the way community really mattered in those days, and it is something that's been sadly lost. I also liked the way there were lots of jobs available in those days- oh, to have that abundance of opportunity now!  Nowadays unemployment and underemployment are a massive problem, and this country is in a mess.  

Serious issues were tackled throughout this novel- from child abuse to wife beating, homosexuality and teenage pregnancy- and I did enjoy reading about the various characters, who were a well-rounded and engaging bunch. I also picked up on the love, and conflicting emotions, as some characters behaved in a way outside of society's dictates. What John and Lottie were up to was quite obvious, and at times I wanted to kick Sally- our leading lady- for her lack of realisation. I also wanted to kick her for not being open with Arthur at any time, when if she had, she might have found happiness earlier. Mind you, if she had, then there wouldn't have been as much of a story! The older characters of kind shopkeeper Sid and seen-it-all granny Sadie were probably the most warming. My parents would have sprang from that generation, but they did come across as more stiff-upper-lip and censurious, and less generous of heart towards others and their faults, so this book did touch a raw nerve.

For me, the best parts of the story were regarding Sally's psychic gift, and how she saw the world through her feelings and peoples auras. I'm glad she split up with (spoiler alert!) hypocrite John and found her happy ending in the shape of her Arthur. Heavens, given the descriptions of him, I quite fancied him myself! I love the way she called her “angel” baby Angela- I've used that exact reference in my novel, The Reject's Club, myself. This Kitty Neale offering is worth a go; the go and read my novel once you're done!