Clever Freddie Tanner and beautiful but apparently 'simple' Kathleen Soper are childhood sweethearts in the grimy, deprived streets of the East End, growing up in the shadows of fascism and under the relentless savagery of the Blitz.Kathy's mother dies in childbirth. Freddie's mother dies in a terrible accident in which her violent husband's involvement is unclear. It is an incident which Freddie can never forget, for he is tormented by his inability to say a proper farewell to her.Freddie has high hopes of a glittering, professional career but his, and Kathy's dreams are thwarted by the relentless course of history, their own human weakness and the increasingly tawdry world that followed the war. The author returns to themes previously explored such as the immutability of Time and human transience; sexual licence and fidelity; truth, illusion and fantasy; humiliation and pride; self-esteem through education and the ricochets that come from a damaged childhood. In this regard, Freddie's growing mental instability is deftly and dramatically handled.This humorous and plaintive story, concerned too with Fate and the redemptive power of Love, is set in East London; in Paglesham on the Essex Coast and on the pier of the seaside town of Southend during the years 1936 - 1953.
About the Author: Keith Warren was born in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex (UK), the son of an analytical chemist who went on to work in nuclear fission, and a biologist who liked cats. Whether or not this may have resulted in a dysfunctional family, readers of his books will have to decide! He trained as an English teacher in the late 60's and early 70's when Margaret Thatcher was Secretary of State for Education and she had commenced chalking the writing on the board. As a bumptious twenty-something, he once had the opportunity to put a question to her on an Eamonn Andrews TV show. She swatted him away like an irksome fly. He's been traumatised about it ever since. He taught English in several schools in Essex and the West Country before nose-diving out of a promising career in his 40's: the classic, hormonal, mid-life crisis. Keep reading! Suddenly, he found himself working in an Estate Agent's ultimately running his own business in the charming little village of Cheddar in Somerset. Too many marriages down the line, he met Her Loveliness and he now lives in the Philippines where he writes, tries to grow pineapples and complains vociferously about the local beer.