Picture Karen Bowman/Jess Davis/Sylvia Kent
Sylvia has just finished her tenth and last book (so she says…) Barking & Dagenham from Old Photographs is out now and available from all good bookshops/amazon.
BARKING & DAGENHAM FROM OLD PHOTOGRAPHS
Barking & Dagenham, both large suburban areas of East London, have been closely connected for a very long time. Historically, Barking was a fishing and agrarian settlement in the county of Essex and formed an ancient parish. What followed was a major shift in economic activity towards industrial development, and Barking eventually became part of Greater London. Barking was William the Conqueror’s home in the eleventh century, and is also home to Barking Abbey, an important centre of religion. For centuries, Barking’s fishing port was one of Britain s most famous. Like Barking, Dagenham was also a farming village and remained mostly undeveloped until the London County Council began construction of a large estate, and a major population rise soon took place. When the Ford Motor Company opened in 1931, Dagenham was recognised throughout the world. In this nostalgic look back at Barking & Dagenham, Sylvia Kent presents old photographs and postcards that are sure to evoke memories of the borough s past, with glimpses of some of the well-known personalities who have lived and worked within its boundaries.
GUEST WRITER KAREN BOWMAN
Our guest this week was the fabulously talented writer, Karen Bowman whose books Essex Girls & Essex Boys available from all good book shops, Amazon and Karen’s website.
Essex Girls Queen, temptress, martyr, witch: the Essex Girl has left her mark on history. For centuries, society allocated women a role of service and obedience; an invisible woman, circumscribed by home and family, was a righteous woman. The Essex Girl, however, was a rebel. She has been the most powerful of landowners, the most loyal of wives, the most devout and the most debauched of nuns. Courageous and spirited, she has fought for her country, sacrificed herself for peace, swum rivers for love, and crossed oceans for her beliefs. She has known wealth and adoration, and suffered persecution and banishment; but, whether saint or seductress, victim or wanton, she has always refused to be invisible. This book tells her story.
Essex Boys Warrior, prince, lover, and rogue: there is much to be said for the Essex man. Henry VIII, Jack the Ripper, Daniel Defoe and Wat Tyler are all here along with many more in this exciting exploration of Essex boys. Pepys and Constable captured Essex both in words and on canvas while the heads of great Essex families administered its laws and kept the county in order. Loyal and strong, men of Essex have battled Viking marauders, defied Norman warlords, sailed with ‘hearts of oak’ against the Spanish Armada and vanquished Napoleon on both land and sea. A man of music, science, and literature, the Essex Boy will always be a man of many guises. Strong and loyal, passionate and ruthless – he is here in the pages of this book.
More about Karen
Karen Bowman is an author with a life long passion for history and the powerful characters, who have shaped our society over the centuries. Be they high-born or commoner, witch, queen, vagabond or king, her home county of Essex has provided British life with many of its most colourful and influential people. In her latest books, Essex Girls and Essex Boys Karen brings them all to life with her highly readable style of writing coupled with an instinctive sense of time and place!
Karen’s writing credits also include numerous magazines, articles, and short stories.
More about Sylvia
Author/Columnist Sylvia Kent comes in each month to present The Book Club on Phoenix FM.
I contribute to national, regional magazines and on-line journals. Most of my 9 books have been reprinted and are on sale in Waterstones, Sainsbury, WHSmith and others. ESSEX FOLKLORE helped Channel 5’s film COUNTY SECRETS. My book THE WOMAN WRITER, published by The History Press sells at the British Library. My history of the Society of Women Writers and Journalists from 1894 traces our pioneers who made their mark in journalism, literature and poetry. Within the book I celebrate the centenary of Joyce Grenfell, a former SWWJ president. A chapter is dedicated to Joyce who meanders throughout my book which was reviewed in The Times and other dailies, radio and YouTube. I’m SWWJ’s Archivist. On-line publisher JMD MEDIA of Derby published my first ebook BRENTWOOD: HISTORIC TOWN in spring. My 2nd ebook ST MARY MAGDALEN: BILLERICAY is downloadable via KINDLE. Online magazine www.Suite101.com publish my articles. Check Facebook,Twitter @sylviaakent & Linked-In Film/audio clips are now added. Check my index box at top left-hand side of this page. Currently researching my 10th book covering Barking & Dagenham.130,000 blog visits.
https://www.sylviakent.blogspot.co.uk/
