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!
.png)