Product Description

Born into a traditional East End family in Bethnal Green, Gilda O'Neill grew up in a world most of us associate with chirpy cockneys, pub knees-ups, legendary criminals and the Dickensian underworld. Her nan had a pie and mash shop, her grandfather was a tug skipper on the Thames and her great-uncle was the minder for a gambling den. In East End Tales, Gilda O'Neill has gathered together her memories and personal recollections of East Enders to bring us stories of unbelievable hardship and devastating change; yet also of great pride, kindness, courage, resilience and humour. These tales of yesterday provide a fascinating commentary on our ideas of community today, and tell, with wit, warmth and emotion, the real story of life in London's East End.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42937 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

About the Author
Gilda O'Neill grew up in the East End of London. Having left school aged fifteen, she later returned to education as a mature student and went on to take three university degrees. Since 1990 she has been writing full-time and has published numerous works of both fiction and non-fiction, including two non-fiction bestsellers, My East End and Our Street. Gilda O'Neill is married with two grown-up children and lives in the East End.

Customer Reviews

Memories
I act as a mentor at an adult literacy group, and my student chose this book for his reading practice. He is getting a lot out of reading this book, but I am getting even more! I was a small child in London during world-war two, and the author brings back so many bits of every-day life that were part of my childhood experiences, but which I had totally forgotten.I am also finding it a somewhat unnerving experience to be reading what is essentially a history book based on the author's childhood experiences and memories, knowing that I am older than the author!
The way we live has changed so much in the lifetimes of the generation recently retired, and I believe that it is important to remember where we came from, and to pass on to the younger generations some knowledge of the hardships of everyday life of previous generations. I strongly recommend this book.