Now and Then

"When the doorbell rang I nearly jumped out of my skin, even though I’d been expecting it since ten thirty that morning. That was the earliest time I thought he could possibly arrive considering the distance he had to travel, my 25 year old son Richard, who I hadn’t seen since he was four weeks old....."

This is how the book begins because it was when my adopted son came back into my life in 1983 that I, Mary Collins, finally felt inspired to put pen to paper and write down my family history. I'd been scratching around at it for years not really getting anywhere when this true life event happened to me. I already had all the historical information I needed going back to 1874, from tales having been told to myself and my cousin Colette by our old Uncle Frank during our summer school holidays. He related stories of families abandoned without income, orphaned children being sent into the workhouse, maidservants being seduced by their masters then bundled into a lunatic asylum for being with child. He told us of war heroes, life with travelling showmen and gypsy fortune tellers, attempted murder, surrogacy, the emancipation of women after the first world war, all these tales were waiting to be told. I even had boxes of letters, photographs, newspaper cuttings, all I needed, I just had to embellish the stories somewhat, change a name here and there. And that's what I have done.

Then to bring it all up to date there was my story, Colette's story and those of other members of my family, skeletons in cupboards, black sheep, it's all there 'warts and all' if you like. Some of the stories have happy endings and some don't, but by the end of the book the reader will see the stark contrast between the shamed and abandoned family from the 1870s in the first chapter, with the sexy, independent but likeable female character from the 21st century in the final chapter who has several children by different fathers - who cares about that nowadays? You can always go on benefits of you're desperate!

Some comments on ‘Now and Then’:
“It’s brilliant” Janet S., Gloucester
“Couldn’t put it down” Barbara W., Orpington
“Really enjoyed it” Ian S., Cumbria
“I was still reading it at 4am!” Ann B., Ross-on-Wye