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: #109221 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

Synopsis
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.

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.