Dee Gordon – författare

Athlete and TV presenter Sally Gunnell, actress Joan Sims, singer Billy Bragg, footballer Bobby Moore, chef Jamie Oliver, author John Fowles, film director Basil Dearden, playwright Sarah Kane, and the infamous highwayman Dick Turpin are among personalities through the ages who have been born in Essex. The county can claim many more who spent much of their lives here and left their mark on the area, including authors Douglas Adams and Margery Allingham, magician David Nixon and comedian Lee Evans. This book features mini-biographies of all these and many more, and will make fascinating reading for residents and visitors alike.

As much as 70 per cent of Essex is agricultural, and given its proximity to the capital it is not surprising that so many members of the Women’s Land Army found themselves on Essex farms and in Essex fields during the two world wars, doing their bit to make sure that Britain did not starve. This book not only includes interviews with some of the last surviving land ‘girls’ but also contains a wealth of material unearthed in diaries, letters and in the stories handed down from one generation to the next about women in Essex who were, literally, wearing the trousers. They were not all local girls, and many arrived from the cities never having seen a cow or a tractor before. But the British spirit persevered, and the wit and camaraderie that served us so well during those tumultuous years shines through in every story.

The modern history of London’s East End has been well-documented – but what of its ancient roots? From embryonic beginnings in the Stone Age, through Roman rule and civil wars, all the way to its jam-packed twentieth-century timeline, the East End has always been a place of innovation, diversity and change. Written by an East Ender with a love of her roots, The Little History of the East End is an engaging look at the area’s history through the people that made it, one that will enthral and surprise both residents and visitors alike.

The Little Book of The East End is a funny, fast-paced, fact-packed compendium of the sort of frivolous, fantastic or simply strange information which no-one will want to be without. Here we find out about the most unusual crimes and punishments, eccentric inhabitants, famous sons and daughters and literally hundreds of wacky facts (plus some authentically bizarre bits of historic trivia). A reference book and a quirky guide, this can be dipped in to time and time again to reveal something new about the people, the heritage, the secrets and the enduring fascination of the original home of the Cockney which is now far more diverse. A wonderful package and essential reading for visitors and locals alike.

The Secret History of Southend-on-Sea is full of intriguing information on the incredible residents, visitors and events that have played a part in Southend’s story. Southend-on-Sea, the largest town in Essex, has had an amazingly rich history, and this book collects together hundreds of little-known facts and anecdotes that will make you see the town in a new light. Discover the ‘Brides in the Bath’ murderer, the top secret military operations performed just off Southend shore and the secret tunnels and smuggling dens used to hide guns, tobacco and Dutch gin. This captivating book will amuse and inform readers in Essex and beyond.

Writing Female Smugglers of the Nineteenth Century has proved quite a challenge, but a fascinating one. This was a century when the romantic notion of smuggling – bold runs onto beaches with kegs of alcohol – was diminishing as duties were slowly eroded on such highly desirable goods. But it was a century when more innovative and ingenious ways of smuggling a larger variety of goods came to the fore. Tobacco and alcohol, yes, but also lace, luxury fabrics and garments, jewellery and even looms were being smuggled in, and out of the U.K. This was not the century of the popular “pirate” figures of the eighteenth century with its famous female figureheads. The early part of the nineteenth century saw women involved in helping their husbands and family with unloading and distributing goods, seen as a survival necessity given their limited incomes … latterly, more well-heeled women on superior vessels were smuggling goods for themselves, often thanks to the fashion for bustles!Of course, as in all areas of history, women are often disregarded and demoted to second-rate roles, so finding out about such women has only been possible thanks to court records, oral history, and newspaper reports. As a result, the subject has not been covered elsewhere in any great detail and this book attempts to resolve that gap. It covers the whole of the U.K. and has chapters on the U.S.A. and Europe and is intended to entertain and amuse as well as, perhaps, to educate.

Southend-on-Sea is actually situated on the Thames Estuary but the originally small settlement grew rapidly in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as it became a popular resort, showcased by the world’s longest pleasure pier and what remains of the Kursaal, an early amusement park, is still prominent. The city’s quirky history goes back to its early years and encompasses the last men to be hanged in the country for sheep stealing in 1820, the 1850s religious sect known as the Peculiar People, one of the world’s first sightings of a UFO during the First World War and many more curious stories. Today’s Southend, which has been a city since 2022, carries on this history of individuality.In Quirky Southend author Dee Gordon delves into lesser known but fascinating tales from Southend-on-Sea’s past. In this book, readers will find stories of the unusual and often strange history of Southend and its characters over the years. This fascinating insight into Southend will be of interest to all those who want to know more about the city’s quirky history.

While Southend-on-Sea, like many seaside towns, may not have been at the forefront of the struggle for suffrage and equal rights in the lives of women between 1850 and 1950, there are surprisingly famous names linked to the town and its women. Novelist Rebecca West, living in nearby Leigh-on-Sea during the First World War (and her lover, H.G. Wells) played a key role in the suffrage and feminist movements and in women’s entry into the scientific and literary professions. Princess Louise, a visitor to the town, was known to be a feminist, regardless of her position, and Mrs Margaret Kineton-Parkes (founder member of the Women’s Tax Resistance League and involved in the Women’s Freedom League) gave a number of talks to the town’s female population. The most high profile of local residents was Mrs Rosa Sky, the one-time Treasurer of the Women’s Social and Political Union and an active member of the Women’s Tax Resistance League, but others were quietly active behind the scenes. This book is not about the distinguished and illustrious, it is about women from all classes, from all kinds of backgrounds, who entered the world of business, who rebelled against the traditional roles of mother, homemaker or domestic servant. It is about women struggling to come to terms with changes at home, in marriage, in education, in health care and in politics. It is the first to look at these issues as they impacted on a town whose population and visitors were growing in line with the expectations of its female population.

While Southend-on-Sea, like many seaside towns, may not have been at the forefront of the struggle for suffrage and equal rights in the lives of women between 1850 and 1950, there are surprisingly famous names linked to the town and its women. Novelist Rebecca West, living in nearby Leigh-on-Sea during the First World War (and her lover, H.G. Wells) played a key role in the suffrage and feminist movements and in women's entry into the scientific and literary professions. Princess Louise, a visitor to the town, was known to be a feminist, regardless of her position, and Mrs Margaret Kineton-Parkes (founder member of the Women's Tax Resistance League and involved in the Women's Freedom League) gave a number of talks to the town's female population. The most high profile of local residents was Mrs Rosa Sky, the one-time Treasurer of the Women's Social and Political Union and an active member of the Women's Tax Resistance League, but others were quietly active behind the scenes. This book is not about the distinguished and illustrious, it is about women from all classes, from all kinds of backgrounds, who entered the world of business, who rebelled against the traditional roles of mother, homemaker or domestic servant. It is about women struggling to come to terms with changes at home, in marriage, in education, in health care and in politics. It is the first to look at these issues as they impacted on a town whose population and visitors were growing in line with the expectations of its female population.

Famous Essex Authors, that you have never heard, that will in fact heard of. There are literally dozens of names that have been, sadly, forgotten over time. You may recognise some book titles, however (The French Lieutenant's Woman? One Hundred and One Dalmatians?). Some of the romance writers featured may not have famous names or even famous "titles" but they were so prolific and popular that they deserve to be foregrounded for their contribution to the world of books.Who knew, for instance, that a working class girl from Dagenham (Sheila Holland) would become so successful as a romantic novelist under her various pseudonyms that she went into tax exile on a mansion on the Isle of Man, or that a quiet introvert from Leigh-on-Sea was capable of writing raunchy novels about Arab sheikhs although she had never travelled beyond England (Violet Winspear). Then there is the impressive R.D.Wingfield, whose books about Detective Frost were a huge favourite of the author, revealed as being from Basildon, not far from her own home in Southend. Finding out why these people started writing, what motivated them, how they enjoyed success by using their lively imaginations, and how they sometimes struggled, has revealed a fascinating insight into the people of Essex. Even the 17th century aristocracy produced its memorable scribes with a Duchess from Colchester flaunting her exoticism and style with both the written and spoken word (Margaret Cavendish). Peppered throughout these pages are boxes featuring additional relevant trivia which should hopefully extend readers' knowledge of Essex authors and their works.Title includes a fold out map.

Did you know?In the eleventh century, Edward the Confessor banished nightingales from the royal palace at Havering-atte-Bower because their singing disturbed his devotions. In 1913, Benny Hucks of Stansted Mountfitchet was the first person to perform a loop-the-loop in an aircraft. On Boxing Day 1946, Hatfield Heath villagers challenged local German and Italian POWs to a football match – and lost 11–0. Brentwood was the first town in Britain to install CCTV. A compendium of frivolity, a reference book of little-known facts and a wacky guide to one of England’s most colourful counties, The Little Book of Essex is packed full of entertaining, bite-sized pieces of historic and contemporary trivia that come together to make essential reading for visitors and locals alike.Dip in randomly, or read consecutively – there are no rules. Be amused and amazed at the stories and history of Essex’s landscape, heritage, buildings and, above all, its people.

Based on quirky facts and fascinating data, with a discerning eye on the bizarre, the frivolous and the funny, The Little Book of the 1960s is nostalgia with a difference. The sights, the sounds, the lifestyle, the whole 1960s experience can be relived through the pages of this book, but be warned – you’ll need a sense of humour. It’s a book that can be dipped in to time and time again to reveal something new about the people, the fashions, the scandals and the enduring fascination of a decade that was truly the most colourful of all.Did you know?When the Beatles played at the Birkenhead YMCA in 1962 for just £30 (the same year Decca famously turned them down because ‘groups with guitars were on their way out’), they were booed off stage. When Barbara Windsor and the cast of Sparrers Can’t Sing were filming in the East End in the early 1960s, the Krays were hired to provide security on the set. When Princess Margaret married photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones in May 1960, she became the first royal to marry a commoner for 450 years.