A Snapshot In Time

New Neighbours For Coronation Close by Lizzie Lane is a marvelous historical novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The book is set in Bristol in 1936 and provides a social commentary on the times. We see terrible slum conditions that some find themselves living in. This contrasts with the new council houses. There were waiting lists but once in your house, there were some surprising rules and regulations to follow. Drop-in inspections also happened.

We witness the camaraderie that slum living created. Bonds formed in adversity remained. People shared what little they had, with those who had even less.

Friendships grew up in the council estates but it seemed harder to make them as people didn’t live so closely together.

We see the historical context too with Edward VIII coming to the throne and having to choose duty or love. Oswald Mosely and his blackshirts began their reign of intimidation and terror. And Stanley Baldwin was Prime Minister – this always resonates with me as he was a son of Bewdley, where I live, and there is a lovely statue of him in the town and also a plaque on the house where he was born in High Street.