Category Archives: novels

My review of “That’s How it Was” by Maureen Duffy

Posted on September 10, 2020 by lipstick socialist

  Secondhand bookshops are treasure troves,  but sadly they are in decline. They have been  defeated by Abe books and the lack of books bought generally. But in Hamburg I came across this great  English language bookshop   run by … Continue reading →

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My review of “Just Like Tomorrow” (2004) by Faiza Guene

Posted on May 27, 2020 by lipstick socialist

  What do you want to do ? New mailCopy It is hard to imagine a working class female migrant from the deprived areas of Clayton (Manchester), Glodwick  (Oldham ) or Hyde (Tameside) being offered a book contract. Faiza is … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, drama, education, feminism, human rights, labour history, novels, political women, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

My review of “They Divided the Sky” A Novel by Christa Wolf. (2013)

Posted on April 18, 2020 by lipstick socialist

What do you want to do ? New mailCopy Christa Wolf (1929-2011) was an East German (GDR) novelist. Born into the Nazi era,  like many of her generation (in the east and the west) she embraced socialism after the war … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Communism, education, human rights, novels, political women, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

My review of “Common Cause” by Kate Hunter

Posted on June 27, 2019 by lipstick socialist

  KATE Hunter, a working class writer and political activist, recognises the massive barriers facing any person   from her background who wants to write. At the age of  nine she won a  National Essay prize,  but there was no encouragement … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, book review, Communism, education, feminism, labour history, Manchester, novels, political women, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

My review of “I Have No Regrets: Diaries, 1955-1963” Brigitte Reimann

Posted on March 25, 2019 by lipstick socialist

    Brigitte Reimann was an East German writer and  an avid chronicler of her own  life through her diaries. In this new book we follow her as she becomes a successful writer, but at a turbulent time for her … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Communism, education, novels, political women, Socialism, Uncategorized, women, working class history | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

My review of “High Wages” Dorothy Whipple

Posted on February 20, 2019 by lipstick socialist

  High Wages is set in 1912 and describes the lives of many young women of that era who had  limited educational and career options. Jane Carter, the heroine of this novel, is a Northern young woman who has to … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, feminism, labour history, novels, political women, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

My review of “A Most Unladylike Occupation” Lisa Wright

Posted on September 8, 2018 by lipstick socialist

  Lucy Deane was one of the first female Factory Inspectors in 1893. In this novel, Lisa Wright, a distant relative of Lucy’s, captures the life and history of a pioneering woman. It was the Home Secretary, Herbert Asquith, who … Continue reading →

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My review of “Tory Heaven” or “Thunder on the Right” Marghanita Laski

Posted on July 13, 2018 by lipstick socialist

  Marghanita Laski (24 October 1915 – 6 February 1988) was a writer and novelist who wrote fiction,  biography and plays. Born in Manchester,  she was part of an extended Labour supporting family,  her uncle was Harold Laski, for instance. … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Communism, labour history, novels, political women, Socialism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

My review of “The Caseroom” by Kate Hunter

Posted on February 4, 2018 by lipstick socialist

  This is a unique novel; how many are written by female  trade union activists about the history of women’s roles in trade unions and the struggle for equality at work? The Caseroom is set during a dynamic period of … Continue reading →

Posted in anti-cuts, book review, feminism, labour history, novels, political women, Socialist Feminism, trade unions, Uncategorized, women, working class history, young people | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

My review of Women Who Blow on Knots by Ece Temelkuran

Posted on September 20, 2017 by lipstick socialist

  Ece Temelkuran is a Turkish journalist and writer. Her books and writings have taken up issues at the heart of the state of Turkey,  exposing human rights abuses against Kurdish people, the Armenian dispute and, closer to home, the … Continue reading →

Posted in book review, Communism, feminism, human rights, Middle East, novels, political women, Socialism, Socialist Feminism, Uncategorized, women | Tagged , | 2 Comments