Once Upon a Time in England Helen Walsh

A Flavour of the Book: “She sighed out loud and thought about the best way to carry Vincent upstairs when all her woe was blasted away by the shock of sheer terror. There was a face. A horrible face. Pressed to the fanlight above the door, a bald, shaved dome with piggy-mean eyes glared in. She wanted to scream, to shriek out loud but nothing came. A thud at the door. They were trying to charge it open…”

The Authortrek View: This is a brilliant second novel from Helen Walsh. It starts off in Warrington, near Liverpool, in 1975. Robbie Fitzgerald is about to achieve his dream of becoming a star on the cabaret circuit, as he’s been spotted by Dickie Vaughan, the legendary talent manager. Robbie can’t wait to get home, to tell his pregnant wife, Susheela. Unfortunately, Robbie takes too long to get home… What happens that night will forever haunt this family. Not that there hadn’t been problems before, as Robbie had felt compelled to court Susheela on walks in the countryside, away from the prying eyes that disapprove of his union with a Malaysian Tamil. Susheela does her best to adapt to her adopted country, but her adopted country doesn’t seem all that keen on her, and the violence she suffers forces her to hide herself away. Not even a move away from the rough streets of Orford to respectable Thelwall can help her come out of her shell or return the intimacy that Robbie craves, despite her fears that Robbie may find solace with other women. Robbie’s dreams have also been shattered, as he can never leave ‘Sheila’ alone at night, and he misses his Orford roots. And although Robbie works very hard, this is not an ideal situation for their children, Vincent and Ellie, to grow up into. And yet the title of the novel suggests a happy ending…

Vincent wants to be a writer, and Robbie tells him to “write from the heart”, so that his writing will ring true, although the terrible irony is that he knows nothing of Vincent’s heart, and does not know what his son has seen… It’s debateable whether Helen Walsh is writing from the heart, or from that other cliché of experience, but she does write with an incredible verisimilitude and passion. Robbie is not the greatest father in the world, and he does terrible things, but so strong is Helen Walsh’s characterisation that you really feel for him. Helen Walsh’s depiction of the setting and the era are also very convincing, especially the acid house scene in the late 80s. The title of the novel may borrow from Once Upon a Time in America, but her narrative is far more enthralling than Sergio Leone’s (although the subject matter is very different). Robbie Fitzgerald’s soulful voice has the power to touch everyone, much like Helen Walsh’s plain but powerful prose. Once Upon a Time in England is a fantastic read from an immensely talented author.

You can read a resume of the book on our Amazon store below. To find out more about the editor, please visit our Helen Walsh page.

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