The history of the music halls, and the history of
variety, is, in many ways, the unwritten history of England. Unwritten, but not
entirely unsung. It was a brief time when the workaday cares of long hours,
unscrupulous employers, summary dismissal, and the constant struggle for
economic survival could be mitigated, even in wartime, by the simple expedient
of spending a few hours roaring out a chorus in a smoky atmosphere redolent of
bright lights and greasepaint. It began
in the music halls, at a time when performers could become famous for a single
catch-phrase, or for having a larger-than-life flat cap, or for filling the
stage with flags.
And,
for those watching who themselves had an inkling of music or comedy, a spark of
talent, and could put an act together, it became a potential escape route from
the mindless drudgery of watching machines at the factory or mill. In the First
World War, men marched to the front singing music hall favourites such as
“Tipperary” and “Pack up Your Troubles”; in Hitler’s conflict, it was Gracie
Fields and George Formby whose music bolstered the troops and reminded everyone
once more what they were fighting for, in a way that patriotic speeches could
never do.
Deborah
Tyler-Bennett’s collection of stories draws deeply on that tradition. Inspired by the music halls and variety,
these stories chronicle the lives of a linked group of characters in the East Midlands in the heyday of musical comedy. Alf and Shirl, Vi, Courtney and Bean (“the
boys most likely to…”) Beryl, and the redoubtable Grandwem are all expertly
drawn and brought to life in these pages, their trials and triumphs, tragedies
and tribulations.
Starting
out in wartime Mansfield, we follow Beryl’s development, intertwined with the
stories of the other protagonists, in their box-and-cox, hand-to-mouth,
precarious existence as entertainers in wartime, and a whole host of minor
characters who provide both context and bitter-sweet humour, including a budgie
called George Formby. If you liked
Priestley’s The Good Companions you
will love this book; if you appreciate the culture and social history of the East Midlands you will love this book, and finally, if
you simply enjoy good, compelling writing with some deft touches and knowing
insights, you, too, will love this book.
Turned
Out Nice Again will be published on 30th September 2013, at a
retail price of £10.99 (plus £1.50 postage, if ordered direct from the
publisher).
No comments:
Post a Comment