Year Published
Categories
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 on the Rocks - Monetarism and the Local State
Author(s): QueenSpark Rates Book Group
Published: 1983
Published in 1983, this book was intended to be the first of a new series, but is the only one that was eventually commissioned. It incorporates a collection of interviews, photographs and statistics, which are used to analyse how monetarism affected the economic policies that were pursued by the city's local authorities in the 1980s. When local councils imposed financial cuts from 1980 onwards, they argued that the cuts were necessary because of overspending. This text takes the view that monetarist policies are implicated in the decline in public services and critically evaluates the effects of monetarism on working people's lives, organisations and throughout the welfare state. It poses the question as to whether a different kind of economics was needed that was geared to need rather than to monetarist philosophy?Memories of Rottingdean - 1920 - 1945
Author(s): Margaret Ward
Published: 1993
This book is a sequel to One Camp Chair in the Living Room, written by Margaret Ward and published by QueenSpark in 1988. Margaret was born and brought up in Rottingdean and lived there all her life. Unfortunately in 1989 she suffered a major stroke and at the suggestion of her rehabilitation nurses, started (as therapy) to write again. As she began to describe the stroke itself and her hard, painful struggle towards recovery she discovered fresh memories of her childhood, teenage years and early married life - they came crowding in and these more recent recollections are incorporated in this narrative.A Pen for all Seasons
Author(s): Ethel Akhurst, Marjory Batchelor, Sylvia Calvert, Stevie English, Valerie Goble, Dave Higgins, Susie Mehmed, Bob Miles
Published: 1997
Published in 1997, this interesting and diverse anthology is the outcome of work that was produced by members of the Hove Writers Club. It will appeal to people of all ages and backgrounds, who should enjoy this inspiring work, which reflects the creativity and freedom of expression that has emerged from the pens of its authors. Including poetry and prose, it focuses on the details of everyday life through the medium of creative writing. The enthusiasm and energy of the writers comes across vividly, and this should appeal to readers of all levels; from the academic to the pleasure seeker, as well as to audiences who are new to poetry.Out of the Blue and blues
Author(s): Katherine J Browne
Published: 1975
This book, which consists of both poetry and prose, features the reminiscences of Katherine Browne. Katherine's story, which encompasses the entire spectrum of the human psyche, tells of the many pitfalls she encountered on her life's journey. It also shows that anybody can write, if they are sufficiently determined and given encouragement. Of particular interest in Katherine's narrative is her account of her war work as a Billeting Officer in Liverpool, in which she provides vivid descriptions of people's homes and lives during those turbulent and poverty-stricken times.Pullman Attendant
Author(s): Bert Hollick
Published: 1991
In 1935, fifteen year old Bert Hollick signed on at Brighton Station for his first shift on a Pullman Train. Working on the midnight shift from Victoria to Brighton, he learnt to ladle soup from a tureen at seventy-five miles per hour and serve a three-course lunch in a speedy fifty-eight minutes. A man of few words, Bert's life story is told in a succinct and concise style that nonetheless manages to convey wonderfully the atmosphere of the Pullman Cars, as well as providing interesting factual details of railway life. He worked at a time when a twelve to fourteen hour day was commonplace, and wages were a meagre two pounds a week, despite providing a luxury service to everyday travellers. This book is a must for all train and railway enthusiasts.Teatime Tales - The Pavilion Gardens Cafe Interviews
Author(s): Harry Hillery, Glenn Stevens, Robin Tulley, Libdsey Tydeman, Peter Oakes, Maxine Badger, Cara Redlich, Iain Cameron Williams, Cecelia Rose, Dorian Vaughan, Karen McMillan, Rob Cohen, Roslyn Cook, Kahn Priestly and Jessica Wallace
Published: 2011
The Pavilion Gardens Cafe, like the Royal Pavilion across the Gardens, is a unique Brighton institution. Throughout the last seventy years, it has offered refreshment, relaxation and a certain kind of charm to tens of thousands of visitors from around the world. The Café also attracts a fascinating clientele of local people, and it is some of their 'Teatime Tales' that are featured here for the very first time.Little Ethel Smith - Her story told by herself
Author(s): Ethel Howell
Published: 1992
This autobiography was published in 1992 and it tells the poignant tale of a young working class woman who grew up in the Old Kent Road in London and came to live with her family in the Sussex countryside, when still a young girl. An important feature of the book is the value placed on family loyalty. It tells the story of Ethel's life during the war years, her courtship and marriage and the sad tale of her first love, a doomed romance that was unable to overcome the class barriers that were prevalent at that time. It is a description of one woman's journey through an often impoverished life – describing the transition from girlhood to womanhood. Ethel finally came a long way from her humble beginnings in the Old Kent Road and this publication is testament to her resourcefulness and hard work.To be a Farmer’s Boy
Author(s): George Noakes
Published: 1977
This tells of George Noakes's childhood and early adult working life before he married Daisy, author of The Town Beehive and The Faded Rainbow, in 1934. George reminisces about his childhood farm memories and forays to the local shops and surrounding areas; for example, when he visited the local bakers, he always knew that a sugar bun would be given to him. When he was old enough to be trusted outside, he ventured everywhere. In short, he had an idyllic childhood, in an era where children had much more freedom to roam "without today's safety worries" and he progressed from a boy into a happy adolescent and adult.Serious Intent - QueenSpark Poetry Anthology 2
Author(s): Shirley Beckett, Danny Birchall, Birdman, Ross Clifford, Ivor Colledge, Valerie Croft, Sonia Ctvrtecka, Phyllis Damonte, Debo, Philip Eley, Sophie Embury, Beryl Fenton, Gerald Fiebig, Steve Gilligan, John Greenwood, Clive Hackney, John Head, Nyk Irvin, Simon Jenner, Roger Lindsey, Julie Martin, Glyn Morrow, Helmuth Osbourne, Nick Osmond, Sam Royce, Pauline Suett, Nick Sweet, John Tatum, Tricia Turner-Savage, Arthur Thickett, Jan Walsh
Published: 1996
Serious Intent is the second book in the QueenSpark poetry anthology. It was intended to be a sequel to Poetry, our first collection of verse, but as it developed, it became evident that there was sufficient material of great depth and scope for it to be published in its own right. It is a collection in the QueenSpark tradition of publishing new, original and varied poetry by local writers from a wide variety of backgrounds and the topics will appeal to the young and the old, the humorous and the serious. It offers an informative and accessible read for an audience that encompasses all ages and interests.The Circle of Life - A woman’s life in Brighton
Author(s): Olive Masterson
Published: 1986
This is Olive Masterson's tale of growing up in the Richmond Road area of Brighton between the Wars. Surrounded by her close-knit family and friends, she was the youngest child of four, and lived a varied and interesting life. In her narrative, she voices the hopes and fears that she experienced in making the often difficult transition from childhood to adulthood. Olive had many occupations; from working in a uniform factory to being a machinist in a gown shop near Preston Circus. She recounts the trials and tribulations of an ordinary hardworking Brightonian woman, who dealt stoically with the many problems she faced in her life, including diphtheria in the family and the ill-health of her father, who was the principal wage-earner.