Happy Publication Day to Mike Read, Barrington Augustus Sowden and Emma Barns! Our July releases are now available from all major retailers.
A Thousand Years of a London Street: Cheapside by Mike Read
Radio’s Mike Read delves deep into the city’s greatest thoroughfare.
In the second instalment of his A Thousand Years of a London Street series, broadcaster Mike Read takes readers back to Roman times as he shines the spotlight on the good, the bad and the intriguing aspects of Cheapside’s millennium long history.
Regaling readers with his fascinating and edifying tales of Cheapside’s past, this second book (the focus of Read’s first book was London’s Denmark Street), bursts with forensically detailed research and a boundless peppering of arcane facts about how the Romans, The Great Fire of London, Wren and multitude of others have made their mark on Cheapside’s pavements.
With London’s streets harbouring a multitude of long lost stories ripe for the recounting, Mike Read’s A Thousand Years of a London Street series is one with endless potential. The only question that remains is which street will pique the interest of this broadcaster turned historical supersleuth next?
A Thousand Years of a London Street: Cheapside is available now from Waterstones, Amazon, Bookshop.org or direct from Cranthorpe Millner.
One Journey, Many Lives by Barrington Augustus Sowden
This heart-rending story of a Windrush son shares the far-reaching consequences of his parents’ decision to seek a better life.
Left with his grandparents in Jamacia after his parents departed for the UK as part of the Windrush exodus, Barrington A. Sowden’s autobiography One Journey, Many Lives recounts his eventful life and his journey towards resilience. From the suspicious death of his grandfather, reuniting with his parents in Manchester, life in the Navy, transformative surgery and ultimately getting his life back on track, this is Barrington’s story.
Sharing the author’s path to resilience, as well as the generational consequences faced by the children of those who came to the UK as part of the Windrush migration, Barrington Sowden’s eloquently delivered life story will strike a chord not only with his Windrush peers but with all those who have battled through life with determination and grit.
A compelling and poignant read, One Journey, Many Lives is a significant chronicle highlighting the ripple effects of the injustices endured by the Windrush Generation, many of which are still prevalent today.
One Journey, Many Lives is available now from Waterstones, Amazon, Bookshop.org or direct from Cranthorpe Millner.
The Walk by Emma Marns
This heartbreaking tale of Ireland’s forced adoption shame shines light on the enduring resilience of out of wedlock mothers.
Taking readers back to 1979 and rural Ireland, Emma Marns shares the evocative and all too real story of Ailbe and Maire. Blending not-so-distant historical realities with fictional protagonists, The Walk lends a voice to the thousands of women who were left with no choice but to have their babies forcibly removed and given up for adoption, carrying that trauma with them always.
The reprehensible realities of its protagonists Ailbe and Maire are laid bare by the author, whose accomplished wordsmithing – developed during her years as a journalist – and introduction of Bessborough – a real facility in Cork run by Catholic nuns – adds to this narrative’s cadence and poignancy.
For all those that pick up a copy of The Walk, a warning. It is almost impossible not to be touched by the fictional tale of Ailbe and Maire, but when you factor in that this fictional storyline has been a life-long and harrowing reality for thousands of women, emotions are taken to a whole new level.
The Walk is available now from Waterstones, Amazon, Bookshop.org or direct from Cranthorpe Millner.
