Coronation Street At WarBy Daran Little
It is September 1939 and into Coronation Street walks the sixteen-year-old Elsie Tanner, just married, pregnant, optimistic for the future in her more affluent new surroundings. Within hours war is announced and within days her husband is enlisted. Elsie is left to face her neighbours alone. Snotty Annie Walker, shy Esther Hayes, cocky Jim Todd and the sturdy upholder of moral values, Ena Sharples. This is the time of hairnets, Lucky Strikes, doodlebugs and GIs. With their menfolk overseas, Coronation Street's women make do. Favourite characters are shown in a new light as everyone rallies round for Ken Barlow's impromptu birth. But how will Annie Walker cope running the Rovers Return without Jack? Will Ena Sharples antagonise everyone in the Street? And will Elsie find love? Funny, heartbreaking and fast-paced, this first Coronation Street novel is rich with familiar voices and a wonderful insight into Weatherfield life before television cameras even reached it. It is as addictive as the television drama always has been.
ReviewsThis is an excellent Audio Book for those who have followed Coronation Street since its beginnings and those who are new to the Street and would like to know its history. At last we find out why Ena Sharples and Elsie Tanner were always at loggerheads. How The Rovers Return managed without beer and the Corner Shop coped with rationing. The thought of Ken Barlow as a baby is mind boggling. The Coronation Street we see on tv is positively gentile in comparison with this story. It is very gritty and down-to-earth, with some strong language and equally strong story lines but this is balanced with a lot to make the listener smile. What a brilliant book - the war arrives in Coronation Street bringing hardship and deprivation for its residents. As the characters fall in and out of love, as friendships are made and broken, Coronation Street at War evokes the days of hairnets, Lucky Strike cigarettes and doodlebugs. Favourite characters are shown in a new light as the Street rallies around for Ken Barlow's imprmptu birth under the kitchen table and Ena helps Sally Todd meet her American lover. As funny, heartbreaking and addictive as the television programme itself, this book will appeal to all of Coronation Street's many fans. Explores the world of Coronation St before the war and provides an interesting background to the ever popular soap. | ||||
Coronation Street © Granada Television Ltd. |
