The husband's story

Collins, Norman

Literature & Fiction

Collins

Also known as Dulcimer Street, Norman Collins's London Belongs to Me is a Dickensian romp through working-class London on the eve of the Second World War. This Penguin Modern Classics edition includes an introduction by Ed Glinert, author of The London Compendium. It is 1938 and the prospect of war hangs over every London inhabitant. But the city doesn't stop. Everywhere people continue to work, drink, fall in love, fight and struggle to get on in life. At the lodging-house at No.10 Dulcimer Street, Kennington, the buttoned-up clerk Mr Josser returns home with the clock he has received as a retirement gift. The other residents include faded actress Connie; tinned food-loving Mr Puddy; widowed landlady Mrs Vizzard (whose head is turned by her new lodger, a self-styled 'Professor of Spiritualism'); and flashy young mechanic Percy Boon, whose foray into stolen cars descends into something much, much worse... Norman Collins (1907-1982) was a British writer, and later a radio and television executive, who was responsible for creating Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4, and became one of the major figures behind the establishment of the Independent Television (ITV) network in the UK. In all Norman Collins wrote 16 novels and two plays, including London Belongs to Me (1945), The Governor's Lady (1968) and The Husband's Story (1978). If you enjoyed London Belongs to Me, you might like Sam Selvon's The Lonely Londoners, also available in Penguin Modern Classics. 'One of the great city novels: a sprawling celebration of the comedy, the savagery, the eccentricity and the quiet heroism at the heart of ordinary London life' Sarah Waters, author of The Night Watch

Modern Classics London Belongs To Me (Penguin Modern Classics)

Classics

Penguin Classic

Concentration and Price-cost Margins in Manufacturing Industries (Institute of Business & Economic Research)

University of California Press

Atheneum

This is a collection of essays on essays on Smollett, Lawrence, Austen, Dickens &amp; others, by a man who went on to write a number of hugely popular novels. The classic book on the craft of writing, this is Norman Collins’ first published work. Norman Richard Collins (1907-1982) was born in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire. In his early career he worked in publishing while also writing and publishing several successful novels. In 1941 Collins began working at the BBC. During this time he became known for his innovative programming, which included Woman’s Hour, which still airs today on BBC Radio Four. He rose to controller of the BBC Television Service, later leaving to co-found what is now ITV after deciding a competitor to the BBC’s monopoly was needed. Collins continued to write fiction throughout his busy working life. Although never a full-time writer he was a fluent and prolific author, with 16 titles and two plays to his credit between 1934 and 1981. An autograph edition of 12 of his novels was published during the 1960s.

Facts of Fiction

History & Criticism

Ayer Co. Pub

While researching his excellent earlier book: Veterans of World War I, author Richard Van Emden encountered a fascinating personality of that long-ago conflict. After witnessing German naval attacks on British civilians, Norman Collins enlisted in the Seaforth Highlanders of the 51st Highland Division, even though he was under age. Collins fought at the battles of Beaumont Hamel, Arras, and Passchendaele, and was wounded several times.Collins lived to be 100 and had an unusually detailed collection of letters, documents, illustrations and photographs. Richard Van Emden has written a moving biography of a unique personality at war, and his long life after the dramatic events of his youth.

Last Man Standing: The Memoirs of a Seaforth Highlander during the Great War

Biographies & Memoirs

Van Emden, Richard

Historical

Pen and Sword Military

The flames in the title are by no means merely symbolic: they are the real flames of an Andean volcano in wild eruption. And it is in this hot, insane world of ashes, lava and earthquake that the business mission of Harold Dunnett, the young audit clerk, comes to sudden disaster. Sent out by his firm to investigate the suspicious trading affairs of Senior Muras, Mr. Dunnett, always very careful of his professional reputation, finds himself being drawn into a human jungle quite as impenetrable as the steamy jungle that lies outside Amricante. For one thing, the Amricante politicians are all businessmen, and some of the businessmen have politicians in their pockets: there is intrigue and corruption in the air. The books of the Compania Muras are mysteriously unobtainable: confidential cables go astray: key witnesses are missing. Mr. Dunnett himself is cajoled, offered bribes, warned and finally threatened. Throughout it all, however, he remains the perfect audit clerk, aloof and immaculate, vainly cabling his employers and writing affectionate letters to the nice little fiancée whom he left at home in England.Then Senior Muras himself disappears up country and Mr. Dunnett, faithful in his purpose, goes in pursuit of him. At this point the local volcano blows its head off: all communications with the outside world are sundered. In his desperate pursuit Harold finds himself involved not only in a local war, but with Carmel Muras, the beautiful daughter of Senior Muras. Together they experience danger and disaster.

Flames Coming out of the Top

Bloomsbury Reader

Bond Street Story brings to life the chaotic glamour, gossip and romance of the elegant Rammell's department store. This charming, nostalgic glimpse of post-war London follows the hopes, dreams and exploits of a host of memorable characters from the prodigious Bond Street establishment. Irene, the whimsical shop girl, yearns for the bright lights of the stage; senior floorwalker Mr. Bloot drifts into a disastrous second marriage; Marcia, Rammell's long-serving model, knows her beauty is waning, and Eric Rammell, the harassed Managing Director, seeks to escape the social life his wife so unremittingly organizes for him. Each of their stories of work, relationships and petty jealousies is skilfully intertwined in this irresistible tale. First published in 1958, Bond Street Story is a classic novel that still resonates today.

Bond Street Story

Ultimate Guide to Lost Wax Casting

Arts & Photography

Xlibris

It hardly seems credible today that a nineteen-year-old boy, just commissioned into the Seaforth Highlanders, could lead a platoon of men into the carnage of the Battle of the Somme. Or that, as the machine gun bullets whistled past and shells exploded, he could maintain his own morale to lead a platoon, keeping its discipline and cohesion, in spite of desperate losses. Norman Collins, the author of this superb memoir, was this remarkable man. Despite being wounded three times, Norman lived to see his hundredth birthday so becoming one of the last surviving combatants of this terrible conflict. Through his eloquent memories recorded late in life and a rare collection of letters that he wrote from the front, he tells the story of his life as a young subaltern at the front during 1916 and 1917. Using Norman’s own words, this book follows him from his childhood in Hartlepool to his subsequent service in France. The book also covers such shattering events as the German naval assault on Hartlepool in December 1914 when, as a seventeen-year-old, Norman was subjected to as big a bombardment as any occurring on the Western Front at that time. Norman’s enlistment and training are covered in detail in his letters, as is his posting to France and the epic attack at Beaumont Hamel in November 1916. Service at Arras in April 1917 and in the weeks prior to the Third Battle for Ypres is also recorded before serious injury hospitalized him for a year. Norman’s love for, and devotion to, the men under his command shine out in this book and his stories are gripping and deeply moving. They are illustrated by a rare collection of private photographs taken at or near the front by Norman himself, although the use of a camera was strictly proscribed by the Army. Most of the images have never been published before.

Last Man Standing: The Memoirs, Letters & Photographs of a Teenage Officer

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