Foul Trade: the untold stories
A behind the scenes look at the world of May Keaps
As a reporter on the East End News, Jack finds it instructive to compile character dossiers on those people who might, one day, prove useful. May, of course, falls into that category so here is Jack’s take on her:
Jack will be adding insights on the rest of the people he has got to know in Poplar when the fancy takes him. So take a peek into his notebook from time to time because you never know when it might contain a secret or two of what is going on beneath the surface.
Foul Trade book club topics
Would you like some author input for your book club discussion? Choose from aspects of oral history, Great War experiences, key research topics, or the themes I am drawn to exploring.
Explore the other books in the May Keaps series:
Examine the background that went into the writing of Foul Trade. Delve into the entire catalogue of topics for all my books:
Or target specifics:
Research for the May Keaps series
As well as the May Keaps series, you may also be interested in the Rhythms in Crime Dance Quartet or Walls of Silence
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“It was as if every man you had ever danced with was dead.”
The ‘Surplus Women problem’ was hotly debated in the 1920s.
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How do I research?
The easy answer is that in researching novels, I use every method at my disposal.
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The past in the present
Hilary Mantel’s thoughts on historical fiction chime with mine.
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It was never to be the coming of peace
These residents of Poplar had little money to spare
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Music halls and all things theatrical, darling
I’ve always been fascinated by the theatrical life of yesteryear.
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Poplar pubs and waterside taverns
Pubs and taverns have always held a special place in the community
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Libraries: Poplar’s palaces of learning
Books and leisure time in which to read them were precious commodities
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Slang and cant decoded
Language forms the platform for the words that come and go in fashion.
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Slang and cant: the words and the music
Much of my research is around language. In fact, all my writing starts and finishes with the words I choose to use.
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“I remember her wearing this, what a fright . . .”
Oral history is people telling stories. Storytelling.
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Gazing into the eye of the beholder
One of the challenges of writing historical fiction is that we can’t know
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