Nab End and Beyond [Paperback]

William Woodruff (Author)

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Product Details

Paperback: 736 pages
Publisher: Abacus; 1 edition (Dec 7 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0349119872
ISBN-13: 978-0349119878
Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 12.1 x 19 cm
Shipping Weight: 458 g
Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #712,192 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Review

'[Woodruff] is fast becoming a national treasure ... [he] is one of the last survivors of an age which has almost vanished from memory ... a publishing phenomenon' Times 'A masterpiece' Independent 'Extraordinarily well written & vividly told, his book is rich in characters, facts, atmosphere & indomitable spirit. It is absolutely fascinating as a social as well as a family history' Eric Hobsbawm, Guardian

Book Description

William Woodruff had the sort of childhood satirised in the famous Monty Python Yorkshireman sketch. The son of a weaver, he was born on a pallet of straw at the back of the mill and two days later his mother was back at work. Life was extrememly tough for the family in 1920's Blackburn - a treat was sheep's head or cow heel soup - and got worse when his father lost his job when the cotton industry started its terminal decline. At 16, William leaves the poverty of Blackburn for London, where he finds no streets paved with gold, but filthy tenements and such squalor only a great city can conceal. He gets a job in an iron foundry and finds lodgings with a beer-swilling landlady and her family - a predatory daughter, and a tattooed madman of a son with whom he has to share his bed. Then, at night school, William discovers his love of learning, which eventually takes him to Plater college, Oxford. As Mosley's blackshirts provoke fighting on the streets, William witnesses the courage of ordinary people in the face of war: a war in which he himself will soon be fighting . . .

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com ^(beta)

Amazon.com: 4.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)

4.0 out of 5 stars A long ago world, Aug 31 2008

By Florence U. Jones "nita jones" - Published on Amazon.com

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This review is from: Nab End and Beyond (Hardcover)

This book took me back to my childhood in Liverpool England. Growing up inner city poor as well as in a 'labor' family, I related to many of the characters.
If you enjoy learning about other cultures and times, this is a good read for you.
There is not a lot of literary value in the book - but very worthwhile reading.

5.0 out of 5 stars An English Angela's Ashes, May 18 2007

By B. Dowling "bookworm" - Published on Amazon.com

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This review is from: Nab End and Beyond (Paperback)

This is a story about a family during the early part of the twentieth century. It describes the severe hardships and endurance of the family who were workers in the cotton mills of Lancashire, England. Even though the conditions were very harsh, there is humor and a strong sense of family unity. William Woodruff, who writes this autobiography, gives a history of the plight of the millworkers and the events of these times. Poverty and a harsh class system were against them coupled with the General Strike and the Great Depression. Billy finally leaves Blackburn, Lancashire, at the age of sixteen and heads to London. Beyond Nab End tells the story of Billy's arrival in London, working in a foundry and finally going to Oxford on a scholarship. He describes his life at Oxford, the politics of the times then finally joining the British Army in 1940.

This book is very well written with meticulous details about life for the average worker of this period. It was a couldn't-put-down book for me. The author transcended his social status and beat a one-in-a-million odds or less to become a great writer.

› Go to Amazon.com to see both reviews 4.5 out of 5 stars