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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 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?Alt-History - New Writing from Brighton
Author(s): Michael Acton, Emily Atkinson-Dalton, Ed Bell, John Bourne, Bryony Cleary, Joanne Dearden, Rachel Grant, Jane Hansford, Grace Judge, Andrew Kearsley, Barnaby O'Rorke, Neil Palmer, Rob Paraman, J T Sellers, Stephen Silverwood, Mark Wilkinson, Joe Young, Kjell Yri
Published: 2005
This diverse collection consists of fifteen stories by new writers, including five pieces of work by young authors under the age of twelve. The aim of the publication is to allow people the opportunity to write their own versions of ‘histories' of Brighton and Hove and the material includes fictional accounts of real places and events from Brighton and Hove's past, both distant and more recent. The tales include the humorous, the poignant and the surreal and provide a glimpse into an alternative world, highlighting the eccentric and heroic people from the Brighton area. It is hoped that they will be enjoyed by both a local and a wider audience.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.Pullman Craftsmen - Life in the Pullman Car Company's Preston Park Works Brighton 1947-1963 - A View from the Shop Floor
Author(s): Don Carter, Joe Kent, Geoff Hart
Published: 1992
This work records the reminiscences of three craftsmen who were employed in the Preston Park Works of the Pullman Car Company during the fifties and sixties. As well as giving the reader a flavour of life in the engineering industry in those times, it also provides a fascinating post-war history of the automobile. The authors record the rise and fall of the company, from its heyday in 1948 to its decline and ultimate bankruptcy in 1963. In its day, it was a successful and valued company in the Brighton area, and it supported the local economy to a great extent. This knowledgeable account provides a testimony to a craftsmanship of a bygone era!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.One Camp Chair in the Living Room - A Woman’s Life in Rottingdean
Author(s): Margaret Ward
Published: 1988
Born in 1916, Margaret Ward describes her life as a 'winding lane' because of the many twists and turns it has taken. Her autobiography describes her childhood in Rottingdean, growing up amongst a loving family in the picturesque Sussex seaside village. For Margaret, 'nowhere in the world is there such a lovely place' to grow up. Her story moves from childhood, through adolescence and working life to her eventual retirement. She recounts the inevitable good and bad times that she experienced, in her story of family life in a close-knit community of a trusting bygone age, when villagers knew and trusted their neighbours, and could leave their doors open or let their children roam freely outdoors.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.Her story - The Life of Phoebe Hessel
Author(s): Ruth Moorhouse, Chris Randall
Published: 1994
Phoebe Hessel (1713-1821) was a woman who spent part of her life dressed as a man, and fought as a soldier for many years with the British Army. In the 18th century, women had very little power or choice in their lives and there was therefore much to be gained in "becoming a man" in such a patriarchal society. In writing this book for children, QueenSpark hoped to encourage them to explore and question gender roles and have some insight into the changing values and expectations of contemporary society.Hard Times and Easy Terms - And other tales of a Queens Park cockney
Author(s): Bert Healey
Published: 1980
This is the entertaining story of a young cockney, who was something of a 'wide boy'. Originating from London, Bert Healey's story begins with tales of his life as a wayward boy, a youth and later an adult. He also describes many aspects of his working life - from his first pay packet, when working as a taxi driver to his times of unemployment during times of illness. Bert tells of the lost acquaintances of his youth, most who have now passed away. His story is especially interesting for young readers, who may not know anything of those times. The book gives an insight into the life and times of the Twenties and Thirties, and is particularly interesting for his tales of Brighton racecourse characters. Those times are often described as 'the bad old days.' Bert wonders if they really were so bad after all?We’re Not All Rothschilds! - The extraordinary lives of some ordinary Jews
Author(s): Leila Abrahams
Published: 1994
This explores the interesting and unusual lives of some of Brighton's Jews in the twentieth century. Through a series of interviews with a cross-section of the Jewish community and two local Rabbis, Leila Abrahams shows that Jews are just as "ordinary" as any other section of society. A strong sense of their capacity to survive adversity in often extreme circumstances, is a theme that can be found throughout the book. On the part of some of the older Jews, there is nostalgia for the past, for a closely-knit family life and the comfort of familiar religious rituals and customs. As for the younger members of the community, they reflect the changing values of society over time in their search for a Jewish identity that involves integration without assimilation.