Gilda O'Neill - Böcker

All big-hearted Katie Mehan ever wanted was health and happiness for her family and the love of her husband, Pat. Meanwhile their 16-year-old daughter Molly is getting an increasing amount of attention from boys in the area, in particular from the masterful and confident Bob Jarvis.

The East End belongs to the O'Donnells. Tough, violent and proud, Gabriel O'Donnell has fought his way up from poor Irish roots to run the gambling, prostitution and protection empire that makes him rich, and that one day his boys, Brendan and Luke, will take over. It's not easy to love a man when violent crime is his career, as Eileen O'Donnell knows, so she's invested everything in her children: icy cool Brendan; Luke, who hates the horror of gang warfare; irrepressible Catherine with her verve for life; and Patricia, married to a man whose brainless viciousness is close to madness. Then Kessler turns up. An enemy from the old days, he's got plans to move in on Gabe O'Donnell's turf. But Gabe swears he will see him burn in hell before that happens, no matter how much blood gets spilt. It's that obsession which leads to a tragedy that changes all their lives... A spellbinding novel of the sixties underworld, full of menace and darkness, The Sins of Their Fathers will grip you to the end as two families are locked in a ruthless struggle of money, love and pride, determined to win no matter what the cost.

THEIR FATHERS RULED THE EAST END IN THE SIXTIES. NOW THEY INHERIT THE LEGACYThe O'Donnell family ran their manor in the East End with a fist of iron, keeping control of their gambling, prostitution and protection rackets. But gang warfare brought horror and sorrow with it, losing Catherine O'Donnell her life and finally bringing murder and violence into the heart of the family. Now Eileen O'Donnell is out of prison and her sons Luke and Brendan are running the show. It ought to be time for some peace and quiet. Instead, the trouble is only just beginning...

Her father tore the family apart. And now she is desperate to break the bonds of fateFor Lisa O'Donnell, the past is a dangerous place. Born into a world dominated by her father's notorious reputation, even her name marks her out. But Lisa's determined to make a new life for herself and so, adopting a false identity, she takes a respectable job in the city. But Jason Carter, the man who seems to offer a way out of her past, has dark secrets to hide. And, through him, Lisa is drawn into the shady clubs of the East End. Soon she's back where she started: living in the shadow of her gangster father, and trapped by his deadliest enemies...

They believed it would never happen again. They hoped it would be over by Christmas...Britain is at war and the proximity of the docks means that life in and around London's Turnbury Buildings is hard and dangerous. Chances are taken, people have secrets, hearts are broken. And feelings about foreigners are running high.Sixteen-year-old Freddie Jarrett is secretly seeing a girl from the local Chinese community - a relationship that would be frowned on by both families, despite the fact that they all support the fight for freedom from oppression. And his sister Grace has her own secret to hide. A secret that no one outside the immediate family must ever know. As the threat of the Luftwaffe looms over the docks, the community is threatened with being torn apart by prejudice, fear and separation, and the disturbing loss of stability that brings with it the feeling that it is only what happens today that counts for anything...

In the 1940s, nearly a quarter of a million East Londoners decamped annually for the hopfields of Kent. Most of the pickers were women, who would take their children and other dependent relatives to stay in the hoppers' huts on the farms.This book records the memories of some of them, in their own lively words. Funny, nostalgic and ironic by turns, they tell of hopping as 'a break from him', an escape from the chesty London smog, respite from the bombs of war, as well as a source of income - and the nearest thing to a holiday that adults or children were likely to get. It was a time of hard graft, of laughter and companionship and long evenings around the faggot fire. In the memories of those who were there, it was a time when the sun always shone ...Gilda O'Neill was herself a hop picker as a girl. In this vivid book she not only pays tribute to the creative genius of the working class of London's East End, but examines the role of memory and oral history in our understanding of the past.

A spellbinding saga of London's East End.Ettie Wilkins has to get out of Whitechapel. As her mother sinks deeper into alcoholism, the volatile lodger sharing their slum turns his attentions to Ettie.So when debonair Professor Jacob Protsky picks Ettie out of the crowd, she is determined to seize her chance. Despite a chorus of warnings, Ettie goes to live with Protsky in Bow to assist him with his magic tricks.But when Ettie befriends the mysterious Celia Tressing, she soon finds herself increasingly worried by events in Whitechapel. A series of gruesome murders and whispers of Jack the Ripper have shaken even that resilient community This is an enthralling Victorian drama of sin and redemption, perfect for fans of Rosie Goodwin and Kitty Neale.

A gripping saga of love and loss on the eve of the Great War.The annual migration from London to the hop fields of Kent is normally a longed-for escape from the dust and grime of the East End. But this year Rose Fairleigh worries their departure will interrupt the slow-blossoming romance between her daughter Jess and postman Jack Barnes.Jack promises to visit and assures Rose he will keep an eye on her three sons, who are staying behind. Before he knows it, though, one of the boys is in trouble and it's up to Jack to bring him home.Meanwhile in Kent, Jess' life grows increasingly confusing as, full of promises and charm, the son of suffragette Lady Worlington turns his attentions to herA heartwrenching East End family drama, perfect for fans of Sheila Newberry and Downton Abbey.