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Part of Pip Granger's early childhood was spent in the back seat of a light aircraft as her father smuggled brandy, tobacco and books across the English Channel to be sold in 1950s Soho, where she lived above the Two Is Cafe in Old Compton Street. She travelled in Europe and Asia in the 1960s and '70s, and worked as a Special Needs teacher in Hackney in the 1980s, before quitting teaching to pursue her long-cherished ambition to write. She now lives in the West Country with her husband and pets. Pip Granger's novels, Not All Tarts Are Apple, which won the Harry Bowling Prize for fiction, The Widow Ginger, and Trouble in Paradise are all available as Corgi paperbacks.
From the author of the Harry Bowling Prize-winning Not All Tarts Are Apple comes this second helping of Rosie Fetherby's life in a postwar Soho cafe. A mysterious stranger appears, bearing ill will towards Rosie's beloved Uncle Bert, Auntie Maggie and the whole extended family of colourful characters: Madame Zelda, the soothsayer; dreamy Luigi, the local Prince Charming; Sugar, the drag queen; Bandy, the nightclub proprietress; and Maltese Joe, Uncle Bert's shady childhood chum. The sinister 'Widow Ginger', an American soldier, returns from prison to exact revenge and generally cause trouble, setting fires and threatening locals. What follows is a patchwork of gossip collected by Rosie, the seven-year-old narrator. The story unfolds over a vast expanse of laps, tabletops, keyholes and corners as the nosy Rosie tries to find out what's going on, but her concerns aren't solely on the threatening Widow - there's also Luigi's attempts to woo newcomer Betty Potts, as well as the nasty illness afflicting Rosie's best friend Jenny. And let's not forget the policeman T.C. - could he really be Rosie's father? This is an enjoyable, often humorous story of its time, and the use of Rosie as the eyes and ears of the narrative gives it a liveliness that lifts it above most of its competitors in the saga market. But ultimately it suffers from an inconsistent, melodramatic plot and the overbearing precocity of its narrator. Rosie talks too much: her first-person narration is ineffectual, denying the reader the opportunity to see events in action. The dialogue is so heavy on slang, similes and turns of phrase that it sounds forced. Additionally, the characterization is such that one feels forced into liking and respecting the characters simply because Rosie says you should. She presumes her word is enough; unfortunately, that's the trouble with the whole book. As the only child in a world of grown-ups, Rosie has a self-centred point of view that heavily influences her narrative, making her character more cheeky than charming. (Kirkus UK)
