Bournville: From the bestselling author of Middle England

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Working for Waterstones meant that I was lucky enough to receive a proof copy of this book well before the publication date. I’d like to explore more of what was revealed about Thomas Foley late in this novel as it’s a piece of history I don’t really know much about.

I haven't read any other books by this author, but living in the West Midlands and having done so all my life, the title appealed to me.The James Bond reference reflects one of the books key premises - that the British are patriotic in a way which is simultaneously backward looking and jingoistic and yet also self-deprecating.

If you enjoy sweeping family sagas, populated by wonderful characters, balanced narratives with stellar endings, then like me, you will love this novel. E anche recentemente avevo trovato Middle England capace di riappacificarmi un po' con questo autore ma qui, che gli è successo? Bournville” va ascritto a tutti gli effetti alla categoria “saga familiare”, accompagna le vicende dei Lamb per tre quarti di secolo, con la particolarità di scandirne le tappe tramite gli avvenimenti della recente storia inglese e della famiglia reale; il personaggio centrale, l’unico che seguiamo in tutto il percorso esistenziale da nipotina a bisnonna, è Mary Lamb, che nella postfazione l’autore afferma ispirata in parte alla propria figura materna. The 103 third parties who use cookies on this service do so for their purposes of displaying and measuring personalized ads, generating audience insights, and developing and improving products.

Amid the celebrations, there is a dark moment when Carl, an elderly German man who has lived in England for decades, is struck by a thug. Perhaps the least predictable choice of event (in fact only unpredictable one) was Charles’s investiture and this did lead to some of the more interesting scenes – a childhood realisation of English-Welsh tensions and even a little twist relating to undercover attempts to dissuade Welsh nationalist activists from direct action. I especially enjoyed the description of the European market versus Cadbury chocolate, lots of humour in this book. We visit the Bournville family – now dispersed across the country – as they react to the death of Diana and then in May 2020, deep in the Covid crisis, with Mary self-isolating and her children and grandchildren (including Lorna) worrying about her. As the country struggles to understand the war it has just endured, six more national celebrations follow: coronations and football matches, fairy-tale weddings and royal funerals.

reworks the plot of an old 1960s spoof horror film of the same name, in the light of the 'carve up' of the UK's resources which some felt was carried out by Margaret Thatcher's right wing Conservative governments of the 1980s.Parts of the chocolate factory will be transformed into a theme park, as modern life and the city crowd in on their peaceful enclave. It is an easy read but is not always light – it has its poignant moments, and may just make you shed a tear or two at times.