Product Description

Meg Henderson grew up in Glasgow in the fifties and sixties as part of a large and often troubled family. The tenement block in which they lived suffered a major collapse and they were moved to the notorious Blackhill district, where religious sectarianism, gang warfare and struggles with hostile bureaucrats were part of daily life. Meg was born into a mixed-religion family, where there was warmth and laughter as well as conflict. Her mother, Nan, and her mother's sister, Peggy, were two idealistic women who took on the troubles of the world. Together they shaped Meg's life, shielded her from the effects of her father's heavy drinking and helped her to move on, eventually, from the slums of Glasgow. Peggy searched for a husband until late in her life and then endured a harsh, unhappy marriage until she died tragically in childbirth. Her death devstated the family and destroyed Meg's childhood, but it was only as an adult that Meg was able to uncover the shocking facts behind Peggy's untimely demise.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #135094 in Books
• Published on: 1994-09-08
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

From the Back Cover
Glasgow in the 1950s was a deprived and often violent place. Meg Henderson was part of a large family, and when the tenement block in which they lived collapsed they had to move to the notorious Blackhill district where religious sectarianism and gang warfare were part of daily life. Yet despite appalling conditions, there was warmth, laughter and a remarkable spirit, and Meg’s mother and her Aunt Peggy, both idealistic and emotional women, shielded her from the effects of her father’s heavy drinking.

A hopeless romantic, Peggy searched for a husband until late in life and then endured a harsh, unhappy marriage. When she died horrifically in childbirth her death devastated the family and destroyed Meg’s childhood. Only later, after the death of her own mother, was Meg able to discover the shocking facts behind the tragedy.

‘Finding Peggy is full of rich detail told with humour and sharpness’ Scotland on Sunday
‘An intensely human story’ Options

‘A tear-jerking story about growing up in a Glasgow slum’ She

About the Author
Meg Henderson was born in the Townhead area of Glasgow in 1948, the youngest and only girl of three children. Thereafter she lived in the Blackhill, Drumchapel and Maryhill areas of the city. She gratefully left her convent secondary at sixteen, and though writing had always been her main interest, she spent some years working within the NHS before going to India with Voluntary Service Overseas. On her return she married, went to live on a Scottish island and became an adoptive and a foster parent. She now works as a journalist and lives with her husband on the East coast of Scotland.

Customer Reviews

Utterly, utterly heartbreaking
Being Glaswegian, Finding Peggy applealed to me as I had been far from home for many months and craved some familiarity. I certainly found that, but I was not prepared for the rollercoaster emotions that accompanied it. I read the book in one sitting and my friend actually thought I had lost the plot as I was roaring with laughter at one stage and honestly sobbing my heart out only hours later. The book excels because the charecters are so vividly described. I could just see Nan and Peggy howling with laughter, clutching each other for support with tears running down their faces. You begin to understand the joy that exists in Meg's working class life thanks to these wonderful women. The effect of Peggy's tragic death was like a bomb: so completely unexpected, it left a huge hole that could never be filled. It is the author's description of this tragedy and of how it practically stopped her mother's life in it's tracks that is so utterly heartbreaking. The loss of someone so dear in such awful circumstances is a situation everyone can imagine, and this makes the story very, very affecting. The book is not without hope though, as Meg triumphs, not only for herself but for her Mum, so that she can see her daughter having all the happiness she could never find.
In all, this is an absorbing, affecting read but be prepared to feel emotionally weary at it's end. And you won't forget it for a while either.

Brilliant! This is the best book I have ever read.
This is one of these books which will drive your family mad because you will insist on reading bits out loud to them. I laughed till my sides ached at the antics of the various relatives in their attempts to outwit each other and I cried at the despair of the Author as the unbelievable truth of her Aunt Peggy's death unravelled. The characterisation in this book is spot on. Meg Henderson has that rare gift for writing a story which really draws the reader in. This book is fast moving and 'un-put-downable'. I found it an exhausting but immensely satisfying read and I immediately craved other books by the same author.

Being Glaswegian isn't a necessity to apreciate this ..
I bought this book fully intending to pop it in with my eighty year old Mothers Christmas presents this year. She, being a Glaswegian , would , I thought, probably like this well reviewed book by Meg Henderson . I opened it when it arrived from Amazon Books and glanced through the pages and that was it! I could not put the blessed thing down! It was just as the reviewers had said it was - riviting, hilarious in parts sad and dramatic in others and a look at family life, ties and differences etc.. I felt exhausted at the end having read it - not just because I read it from cover to cover in such a short space of time but because I felt I had "lived" the book myself through Megs' words !
Mother got the book yesterday - Christmas is too far away and it would be cruelty not to let her read it at once.