A brand new uplifting, emotional and sometimes shocking memoir about life in London's oldest suburb, from the Queen of saga fiction Jean Fullerton . . .
*** Featured on WOMAN & HOME and PEOPLE'S FRIEND, and coming soon to BBC RADIO! ***
One of my first East London memories is lying in bed, listening to the low boom of the barges as they nudged each other on the Thames, just half a mile away from our estate . . .
Life in Cockney London was tough in the post-war years. The government's broken promises had led to a chronic housing shortage, rampant crime and families living in squalor. But one thing prevailed: the unbeatable spirit of the East End, a tight-knit community who pulled through the dark times with humour and heart.
Drawing on both family history and her own memories of growing up in the 1950s and '60s, as well as her working life as a district nurse and local police officer, Jean Fullerton vividly depicts this fascinating part of London - from tin baths, to jellied eels, to tigers in a Wapping warehouse.
***Includes a bonus 8-page photo plate section!***
Title: A Child of the East End
Author: Jean Fullerton
Published By: Corvus
Publication Date: 4th August 2022
Author Guest Post - Jean Fullerton
Hi Jean and welcome to Sincerely Book Angels blog.
What inspired you to write your biography?
Well, I wish I’d asked my granny more, so I felt I should pass on all the Fullerton family stories to my own children.
Did you always want to be a writer?
No I didn’t, mainly because I’m dyslexic and always struggled with spelling at school. However, I’ve always been a storyteller for as long as I can remember.
What other jobs have you had?
Where do I start? Worked in a chemist, was a Woolworths Girl, a filing clerk, a pattern cutter in the fashion trade, a police officer in London and finally a district nurse and university lecturer.
How did it feel when your first novel was published?
Absolutely elated and to be honest I still feel the same every time I hold my latest book in my hand.
Can you please tell us a little about your publishing story?
I started writing twenty years ago after attending an NHS stress management course knowing nothing about writing or publishing. When I finished the book - a medieval romance - I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I studied my craft alongside a day job and writing another six books. Finally, in 2006 my first novel, No Cure for Love, won a literary competition for unpublished authors after which I gained my first agent and two book deal. I haven’t looked back since.
What other books have you written?
I’ve written nineteen other books. The Nolan family series set in Victorian East London, the Nurses Millie and Connie series, set in a fictitious East London Nursing Association before the NHS and my current Brogan family series, again set in East London during the dark days of WW2.
Have you ever had writer's block? If so, how did you overcome it?
Thankfully I haven’t but I would think the best way to deal with it would be to continue writing.
What motivates you to keep writing?
The money’s nice but what brings me to my desk each day is the lovely emails I receive from readers.
Where is your favourite place to write?
My office at home but I can write on trains, boats and planes when a deadline is looming.
Do your character’s moods ever affect your mood and vice versa?
Not as such but if I’m feeling stressed, escaping into my current story lightens my mood instantly.
What three pieces of advice would you give to an aspiring writer?
Firstly, accept you’re not an undiscovered literary genius.
Secondly, learn your craft.
Lastly, a published author is only one who never gave up so keep going.
Which authors inspire you?
That’s a difficult one as there are so many but I’d say Anya Seton, Sharon Penman and Catherine Cookson, all of whom I read voraciously as a young adult.
What are you reading at the moment?
I’m re-reading Dorothy L. Sayer’s Lord Peter Whimsy series which I read 40 years ago.
If your book was made into a film, what song would you choose for the opening credits?
My Life by The Beatles
I love that song. Who would you choose to play your favourite character in the film of your book?
Aidan Turner – always.
What is your next book about?
I can’t tell you too many details, but I can tell you it’s set in East London during WW2 and features a very different family from the Brogans in my Ration Book series.
Thank you so much for joining us on our blog today and good luck with the book.
Sincerely
Book Angel x
About the Author
I was born into a large, East End family and grew up in the overcrowded streets clustered around the Tower of London. The Fullerton family have lived by London docks since the 1830s and all my books are set in and around this area.
East London has changed greatly and many of the old neighbourhoods I knew as a child have changed too, but I endeavour to bring them alive again in my East London stories of love, family and hard times. I feel that it is my background that gives my stories their distinctive authenticity.
I has been shortlisted for and won several awards and regularly undertake writing workshop. I'm fortunate enough to be a guest cruise lecturer and have sailed all around the world talking about East London's vibrant history. I am married to a minister in the Church of England and have three grown-up daughters.
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