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QueenSpark Books Archive - Free Full Text Books
A unique searchable archive of the books published by QueenSpark Books up until 2010. Free to view and full text this collection features voices that tell the story of Brighton and Hove, across the 20th Century, in their own words. The majority of these titles are now out-of-print.
You can buy those still in-print, and newer titles, with this link.
Brighton Boy - A fifties childhood
Author(s): Andy Steer
Published: 1994
This autobiography takes as its subject matter the local areas and geography of post-war Brighton, seen through the eyes of Andy Steer. It includes descriptions of institutions in the city that were important to Andy such as Stanford Road School, the now defunct Brighton Cycle Club and the Shiverers Swimming Club at the King Alfred swimming pool in Hove! The book also brings alive those boyhood times when he and his friends played in Cherry Woods, near Withdean Stadium. Here they spent timeless hours on their endless games - lost in their own joyful, imaginary world. In short, Brighton Boy is a schoolboy's tale of Brighton in the fifties which is sure to bring back memories of forgotten times for many local people.Boxing Day Baby
Author(s): Barbara Chapman
Published: 1994
Barbara Chapman was born in Brighton on a snowy Boxing Day in 1927 and in this autobiography, she reminisces about her early childhood; focusing on her memories of home and school, and the effects of the Second World War on herself, her family, and the community. Barbara shares her experiences of working life in the Brighton area; telling stories of her jobs, including her work as a waitress and a telephonist at the Old Ship Hotel. She recollects vividly a bygone era, narrating her life history with honesty, humour and charm and invoking for the reader a very personal impression of the city during the early 1930s and 1940s.Back Street Brighton - Photographs and Memories: a sequel to Backyard Brighton
Author(s): Various
Published: 1989(reprinted Nov-07)
Originally produced in collaboration with the Lewis Cohen Urban Studies Centre, this is a sequel to Backyard Brighton incorporating photographs taken by the Environmental Health Department in the late forties and early fifties of houses in Brighton that were scheduled for demolition in the fifties and sixties. Each photograph is accompanied by reminiscences of families who lived in the houses which, unlike the narratives in Backyard Brighton, are generally positive - with many people expressing fond memories of the era and viewing the demolitions as a beneficial experience for the area. The book provides an interesting historical account of "slum" clearance for residents of Brighton and any other readers who might be interested in the architectural and social history of the city.Our Small Corner
Author(s): Sid Manville
Published: 1994(reprinted 1994)
This autobiography is the sequel to Sid Manville's Everything Seems Smaller. It recalls memories of friends, neighbours and relatives who made up the 'small corner' of Sid's neighbourhood in Bear Road in Brighton in the Twenties and Thirties. Sid writes with much affection and humour, although he doesn't forget that this era was also a time of great hardship for working class people. His own mother and father struggled to bring up a large family at a time when it was considered fortunate to have any kind of job, no matter how poorly paid. Although times have changed, lack of employment is still a feature of many people's lives in the twenty-first century.Blighty Brighton - Photographs and memories of Brighton in the First World War
Author(s): Various
Published: 1991
Sadly out of print, this book (produced in collaboration with the Lewis Cohen Urban Studies Centre), is all about memories of Brighton during the First World War. Through an examination of ephemera such as posters, photographs, pictures, songs and personal recollections, it portrays a collective memory of the city. Photographs are central to this work; for example Brighton Museum, Preston Manor and Brighton Reference Library are all featured pictorially. This book provides a valuable and important source of local history - a must for all those passionate about the city and its historical roots!Remember the First Time? - A Collection of Childhood Memories
Author(s): Martha Buckley, Rachael Collins, Tony Gates, Margaret Heal, Keith Jago, River Jones, Karen McMahon, Karen Monaghan, Celine West
Published: 2002
These diverse images of childhood recapture a world that was much bigger and full of the unknown than today; a place where so many territories still lay undiscovered. In brief autobiographies, eight writers share reminiscences of their childhood years of happiness and indulgence. The authors take us on a journey back to times and places where imagination was allowed to run wild and unfettered. Readers can gain insight into those bygone times of fun, fantasy and frolics, but it wasn't only halcyon days that are remembered. There were times when childhood memories invoke fear and bewilderment, and a wide spectrum of emotions is explored in the stories contained in this collection. It provides a legacy of childhood that can be enjoyed by children as well as adults, who will no doubt find echoes of their own childhood days.Roofless - Homeless in Brighton
Author(s): Simon Brown, Chris Ellis, Mark, John Wilkins, Danny, Martin Curtis, Simon Nihill, Paul Budd, B, Richard Rowland, Jacqui Martin, Mick O, Coralee, Chris, Liz Hingley, Jo Nean, Melissa Lee, Barry P, Wendy, Dominique De-Light, John Riches
Published: 2007
Roofless is a collection of photographs, essays, stories and poems by homeless and ex-homeless people from Brighton. It is about survival, about battling poverty, rejection, ill health and loneliness. There is anger, sadness and rebellion, but also instances of hope and solidarity and writing that, whilst often raw and uncompromising, possesses a surprising generosity of spirit. Roofless attacks many commonly held prejudices and provides not just a window on the world of the homeless, but a valuable insight into the society that so often lets them down. Roofless has stimulated many readers to write to QueenSpark - often expressing why some of the stories made them cry 🙁Stroke: Who Cares? - The stories of five carers
Author(s): Georgina Castelfranc, Karen Clark, Guy Pearman, Irene Player, Joan Roberts
Published: 1993(reprinted 1996)
Continuing the theme of working with people who have suffered strokes, this book is intended as both a self-help aid and as a helpful guide that can provide support to others in similar situations. It is written by five people with experience of caring for a close relative who has suffered a stroke. The process of compiling their memories and thoughts and putting pen to paper was therapeutic for the authors. Their objective was to reach out and help others who may be struggling to cope in similar circumstances. Carers often have to deal with exasperating, challenging behaviour and a personal sense of being trapped and isolated. All of the narratives are lively, moving, evocative and informative and are taken from the layman's point of view, as the authors consider that professionals cannot speak with such insight. Issues that are covered include practical concerns such as claiming state benefits, hospital procedures, respite and palliative care.Always a Layman
Author(s): John Langley
Published: 1976
This is the autobiography of John Langley, an active church-goer, who was born in 1905. It tells the moving and impassioned story of his life: incorporating his childhood, his journey to adulthood, his working life and association with the Workers' Union along with his commitment and affiliation to the Labour Party. It also describes the progression of his career as a railway carriage painter and is very readable, telling us about the good and bad times of Brighton family life. His reminiscences are as sharp and accurate as if they all took place yesterday, let alone one hundred years' ago. John started from humble beginnings, in an era when a job for life really did mean just that.Write from the Beginning - Special childhood days
Author(s): Irene Andrew, Dorothy Fuller, Gilbert Grover, Dave Huggins, Wendy Jones, Kit Keay, Lee Lacy, Kathleen Malenczak, Saviour Pirotta, Kathleen Wilson, Michael Wilson
Published: 2002
This work is the culmination of an eight-month creative writing programme that ran at QueenSpark from August 2001 to March 2002 and included two ten-week creative writing courses and four introductory sessions on writing autobiographically. Its aim was to involve new and diverse audiences and writers in the joys of creative writing. It utilised a variety of techniques and methods to explore two central themes; one of which was writing for children and the other was looking at childhood memories. This anthology contains work from the Vallance Memories Group and the Brunswick Older People"s Project and as well as being an enjoyable read, it provides a stimulus for reminiscence work, particularly with older members of the community.