Out next month, my novel EAST END JUBILEE is timed for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations and is by no means a royal intrigue, but more an East
End drama and family conflict. The plot is set against the backdrop of the present
Queen’s coronation in 1953. One of the reasons I wrote this story was because of
the post-war changes to our countries and the spread of a new dynamism
and entrepreneurial spirit that my lead male figure, market trader Eddie Weaver, possesses in
abundance. Unfortunately this enthusiasm gets Eddie into trouble
and tests the love and trust of his nearest
and dearest. The 50′s were full of such stories, one of the most famous
being Rebel Without a Cause, where James Dean played a mixed-up and
defiant teenager, challenging the system. My Eddie isn’t as glam or
moody, or oozing Dean’s on-screen chemistry, but he’s a wheeler dealer, a
Dell Boy, and has his own charm. Sadly, the police have marked his card
and in the midst of all the celebration, Eddie is nicked! Now it’s down
to my heroine to prove his innocence. Bring on the heavies to test her
resolve and Rose Weaver either has to bow to the bad men, or – and need I
say more? – fight tooth and nail to resist them. I like to think I’ve
drawn inspiration from the greats; Ava Gardner, Kim Novak, Marilyn
Monroe, Marlon Brando, Steve McQueen, Kirk Douglas – the list of 50′s
stars is endless. So I hope that the cocktail I serve up in
EAST END JUBILEE (formerly
titled Rose of Ruby Street) will do justice to this celebratory year
and bring back a little of the 1950′s magic and everything that was so
excitingly new and inspirational, after the seemingly endless years of
war.
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