Patricia Burns

It’s 1953, Coronation Year and everybody is celebrating… Everybody it seems, except Scarlett Smith. In one day, she loses her Mum and her home as well. Now she and her father are adrift in Southend, moving from one grimy rented room to the next – the only happiness for Scarlett is her innocent romance with local boy Tom.Scarlett’s once-loving Dad can’t hold down a job – or keep off the drink. Scar...

Annie Cross has few pleasures in her tough life. On the bleak family farm on the Essex marshlands, she slaves all day for her cruel father. The one thing that keeps her going is her secret meetings with Tom Featherstone.But War steals Tom from her when he joins the RAF. Annie would love to do her bit but stuck on the farm, she lives for Tom's letters – until they stop coming.When, against the odds...

“She was following her dream. And I’m going to do the same. I’m going to be a dancer. ”In January 1947, Lillian’s Aunty Eileen escaped their family’s grim Southend boarding house to find her own path. Now Lillian’s gran rules the family with an iron fist and Lillian, the youngest, is no better than a slave. She takes comfort from her Aunty Eileen’s example, knowing that she will one day leave and ...