Welcome to Weaver Street by Chrissie Walsh
Genre: Historical fiction, Sagas, WW1
Read: 26th July 2022
Published: 25th July 2022
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Kitty and Tom Conlon arrive in Liverpool in July 1916 to claim the house Tom’s great-uncle has bequeathed him in his will. The move to England couldn’t have come at a better time. Dublin is in turmoil following the Easter Uprising and Kitty’s brother is now in prison.
The house in Weaver Street is all they hoped for, and after a shaky start with her new neighbours, Kitty believes the world is her oyster. Until that is, Tom is conscripted into the navy.
With Tom away, it’s up to Kitty and the women of Weaver Street to get each other through the war.
MY THOUGHTS:
A delightful saga that is as heartbreaking as it is heartwarming, we meet newly married couple Kitty and Tom Conlon as they arrive in Liverpool straight off the steam packet from Dublin. A month after their marriage, they received a letter from solicitors in Liverpool outlining that Tom had inherited a house on Weaver Street from his namesake and great uncle Thomas. At first he thought it was a mistake but after clarifying with the said solicitors, he was assured that he was no in possession the property. So with no real close family and in the wake of the unrest in Ireland following the Easter Rising, Kitty and Tom headed for Liverpool to start a new life.
They arrive tired and in need of some food and rest to take possession of the property by obtaining a key from the solicitors. Kitty is then determined to make them a nice home with dreams of a family, although she does get off to a rough start in the beginning. However she soon makes friends with her neighbour Maggie which will serve her well when Tom is suddenly conscripted into the Navy to fight for Britain in the Great War, leaving Kitty behind and somewhat alone. But Maggie soon soothes her with her friendship and wit, but she's also a down to earth character who speaks as she finds. Kitty and Maggie make an interesting pair as they like chalk and cheese in their differences but at the same time they complement each other.
It soon becomes clear that Tom has ideas above his station when he wants to rise above his upbringing and fancies himself becoming a rich toff. He starts a bookmaking business at the local pub, The Weavers Arms, refusing factory work thinking manual labour is beneath him while Kitty took work at a tea shop. Tom wasn't entirely likable and often took kindhearted Kitty for granted. But despite that she maintained a positive attitude.
Kitty was a wonderful character and I enjoyed her so much. She was kind and warm and the type of friend you would treasure if you found her. Tom not so much. Maggie was a real character despite their rocky start.
Some parts of the story I found a little slow going but I've also just come off reading a bunch of page-turning thrillers so this gentle easy read was somewhat tame by comparison...lol But I enjoyed WELCOME TO WEAVER STREET which I believe is my first read by Chrissie Walsh (though I do have several of her other books on my shelf somewhere). I was surprised, however, that the Spanish flu was just glossed over as it was such a big part of life at the time.
I hope this isn't our last visit to Weaver Street and will look forward to catching up with the friends and neighbours in the future...hopefully.
I would like to thank #ChrissieWalsh, #Netgalley, #BoldwoodBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #WelcomeToWeaverStreet in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Social Media links:
No comments:
Post a Comment