Bethnal Green: The vibrant 1970s set debut novel and love letter to the NHS that is captivating readers...

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Amélie Skoda

Bethnal Green

The vibrant 1970s set debut novel and love letter to the NHS that is captivating readers

Amélie Skoda

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Paperback

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English

Manilla Press
20 May 2025

Fiction & Literature; Historical fiction

Penang, 1971. When Suyin Lim is offered the opportunity of a lifetime - a place as a trainee nurse in London's Bethnal Green Hospital - she jumps at the chance to leave her job as a seamstress and unite with her sister, who left for the same path a year before.

However, without warning her sister returns to Penang, a shadow of her former self and Suyin is forced to leave without any answers. Suyin soon finds herself starting a new life in London, falling in love with the vibrant city and its people and as she immerses herself in the gruelling but rewarding work of caring for her patients, she begins to understand what she really wants out of life . . .

Bethnal Green explores the themes of sacrifice and heartbreak, the power of using your voice and the will to build a life of one's own against the odds. It is also a powerful love letter to dedicated NHS workers from around the world, whose work touches countless lives every day.

Heartstring-pulling and hopeful - SARAH TURNER

A captivating immigrant story about a young nurse... I was hooked from the first page - LAUREN HO

By: Amélie Skoda
Imprint: Manilla Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 233mm, Width: 153mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 440g
ISBN: 9781786583482
ISBN 10: 1786583488
Pages: 368
Publication Date: 20 May 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Amélie Skoda was born in London to French and Malaysian-Chinese parents. Her debut novel?Bethnal Green was inspired by conversations with her mother,?who has been an NHS nurse for more than forty years, and by her subsequent wider research at the Royal College of Nursing archives. The novel was shortlisted for the?Mo Siewcharran Prize in 2021, and her stories and essays have appeared in the Feminist Review, Caught by the River, and various anthologies.

Reviews for Bethnal Green: The vibrant 1970s set debut novel and love letter to the NHS that is captivating readers

'Captures with grace and profundity the experience of immigrants and health workers' - TASH AW 'A beautifully immersive coming-of-age tale set amongst the brilliance and bleakness of 1970s London' - LOUISE HARE