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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.
Poverty: Hardship but Happiness - Those were the days 1903-1917
Author(s): Albert Paul
Published: 1974(reprinted 1975)
This book is the first that was published by QueenSpark. It tells the story of a working class boy's life in the years between 1903 and 1917, from his childhood through to adolescence. It looks at the hardships of life before and during the First World War and examines the ways that children's lives changed as a result of the Great War. Albert Paul was a retired carpenter who lived all his life in Brighton, and he describes in vivid detail the life of a boy brought up in poverty and his struggle against adversity.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 🙁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.Deckhand, West Pier
Author(s): Arthur Thickett
Published: 1993(reprinted 1999)
This is a fresh and often humorous look at a young man who came to Brighton in the summer of 1970, full of hope and optimism – his goal was to find adventure and ultimately love. Written in a witty prose style, we learn that on his first day he found digs, on his second day, he walked into a job, but cupid's arrow was to prove more elusive! Haunted by memories of the Second World War, Arthur Thickett tried to reconcile himself to his past and find friendship and laughter. He describes a town that behind the bright and lively holiday facade was full of lonely people. Note that the cover shown is from the second edition produced in 1999. The original book looked more like Margaret Ward"s Memories of Rottingdean.Take Him Away
Author(s): Ron Piper
Published: 1995
This adventure begins with Ron Piper, as a boy of seven, clambering around bombsites looking for shrapnel and ends with his appearance in the dock at The Old Bailey, as a notorious career criminal. It is a powerful wartime record of the author's steady progress towards a life of crime in war-torn East London. Ron's unique style and humour convey to the reader the tribulations of his life, as well as describing the deep camaraderie, friendship and mischief that he shared with his companions and fellow felons. Full of vivid memories and colourful characters, it's a compelling account of one man's life history, which also conveys a vivid picture of the social history of the time.Who Stood Idly By - Poems and Cartoons
Author(s): Alf Johns
Published: 1984
Published in 1984, this is a book containing humorous and political poems and cartoons intended for an adult audience. Satirical and witty, exhibiting a wry, often black sense of humour, the subject matter centres around the politics of the government of the day, in particular the policies pursued by the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet. Written by a retired hospital porter, Alf Johns highlights the failures of Thatcher's government in the 1980s and early 1990s. Alf believed in socialism, which he described as 'the language of peace and economic success' and of particular concern to him was the topic of anti-nuclear disarmament.The Other Side of the Counter - The Life of a Shop Girl 1925-1945
Author(s): Marjorie Gardiner
Published: 1985
This autobiography looks at the working life of milliner, Marjorie Gardiner, from 1925 to 1945, including an account of her working life during the Second World War. Marjorie's story is told in a lively and evocative manner, and describes her experiences as a shop assistant working in a Brighton hat shop, where she met all manner of elite customers. Those were the days when women were particularly fashion-conscious and there was a huge variety of different types of hat styles available. This first-hand account provides a fascinating insight into shop life during the first part of the twentieth century.Shops Book - Shopkeepers and Street Traders in East Brighton 1900-1930
Author(s): Neil Griffiths
Published: 1978
Shopping plays a major part in all our lives: we are all affected by rising prices and the changes that have taken place to shops in our local areas. This book is about shopkeepers and street traders – drawing together their various experiences in East Brighton. Shops have certainly changed greatly in the last hundred years - as large firms, supermarkets and superstores have replaced the small-scale local producers and craftsmen. The reader is better able to understand these changes through reading of first-hand experiences, in this comprehensive study of a bygone era.On the Writing Trail - Short stories by QueenSpark writers
Author(s): Leila Abrahams, Ethel Akhurst, Margory Batchelor, Shirley Beckett, Sylvia Calvert, Valerie Croft, Stevie English, Valerie Goble, Margaret Howell, Keith Kennedy, Susie Mehmed, Robert J Miles, Nick Osmond, Violet Pumphrey, Sam Royce, Claire Shelton-Jones, John Tatum, Arthur Thickett, P B Thomas
Published: 1999
This diverse anthology of short stories is a rare excursion for QueenSpark into publishing fiction. The stories explore childhood themes from an adult perspective, often in a quirky and original style. The content is entertaining, with a clear sense of humour evident throughout. The book recognises that writing fiction is part of a personal, subjective process and the stories in this collection reflect the individual experiences, ideas and inspirations of each of the writers. Through the writing process, it has allowed people who might not otherwise have classified themselves as authors to see their creativity find an outlet through the publication of this work.Rare book
The Sudden Change in My Life
Author(s): Gary Irwin
Published: 1995
This is a powerfully honest account of one man's triumph against the odds. Gary Irwin survived major surgery to remove a brain tumour. In this book, he takes the reader on a journey that charts the progress of his illness, including the invasive and traumatic surgery that he underwent. He documents the long process of initial diagnosis, treatment and eventual recuperation. This first-hand account is narrated from the patient's subjective point of view as opposed to a medical perspective and is a fascinating and compelling read.