Books are a favourite present for Christmas. So why not come and support some of Croydon’s authors whose books range over fiction, poetry, arts and culture; Croydon, Black British and Other histories; autobiographies; plus books for young readers, and some biographies of former Croydon residents, and politics and economics.
You can discuss their works with some of the authors who will also be pleased to sign copies you buy.
Sean Creighton 11am-5pm. He can also advise on historical research.
Bernadette Fallon 11am-5pm
David Gleave 1-5pm
Maximilian Hawker 11am-5pm
Anna Orridge 2-5pm
Eric Sanders 2-3pm
ELizabeth Sheppard 1-2pm
The authors stall is part of the Made in Croydon Market event.
Cathedrals of Britain
Although it does not have a Cathedral, as heads of the pre-Reformation and later Anglican Churches,ome and m the Croydon based Archbishops of Canterbury are central to the story of British Cathedrals. Croydon author Bernadette Fallon has written a series of guides to the Cathedrals of Britain. Copies are available at the special price of £10 (normally £12.99). For more information see below.
Croydon History
Aspects of Croydon’s History are on sale: Sean Creighton’s Keen as Mustard – South Croydon History, Croydon Radical History (misc. notes), Suffrage Campaigning, Black African & Caribbean history before the Windrush, Peace and anti-war campaigning in Croydon from 1816-1950s, and What Happened in Norbury. There are also Jeff Green’s Samuel Coleridge-Taylor; David Clark’s Norbury History pamphlets and book; Pam Buttrey’s Cane Hill Hospital. There are books about or by people who lived in Croydon (Ronnie Corbett, Sue Perkins, Will Hay, Peggy Seeger, Bridget Riley). Croydon Natural History & Scientific Society (CNHSS) member Brian Lancaster’s works are available: Consumed by fire: the destruction of Croydon Parish Church in 1867 and its rebuilding; Gardeners and guardians of the earth, the lives of the Rev. William Wilks – of Shirley Poppy fame, Mary Sibthorp – Addiscombe’s pioneer ecologist (and campaigner for refugees from Nazi terror) (with others), and George Clinch, local antiquarian; and with Ron Cox & Sean Creighton Strange Bedfellows: Croydon’s slave owners and historians. The latest CNHSS Bulletin is also available. There is also Jon Newman’s Death on the Brighton Rd about the execution sites from Kennington to West Croydon.
Books for Young Readers
Emma Hope’s The Tin Whistle and Barriers are the first two instalments of a three book series under the header Jenny D. Bloom. They are action, fantasy stories aimed at young readers that enjoy adventure and mystery. The lead character Robyn is 12 years old and struggling with home life. The first adventure introduces Robyn to another world of long lost relatives, pirates and abduction. Lorna Liverpool and David Gleave offers their illustrated books for primary school children; Lorna: A Dance to Remember and The Hidden Treasures Within; and David’s about Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (Croydon’s Afro-British composer), and Dido Elizabeth Belle (18thC Black woman about whom the film Belle was made).
British Black History
The display includes David Gleave (as above) plus his The Walker Brothers & Their Legacy (First World War Black soldiers). The recently re-printed Jeff Green’s pamphlet on Samuel Coleridge-Taylor published in 2012 for the 100th commemoration of the composer’s death is available. Sean Creighton offers Croydon’s Black African and Caribbean History before the Windrush; John Archer, Battersea’s Progressive & Labour politician (1872-1932); and Politics and Culture, Paul Robeson in the UK. There is also anti-racist activist Marc Wadsworth DVD film Divided by Race. United in War about West Indian servicemen in the Second World War and their experience in Britain after the War.
Other Histories
Other histories include Pam Buttrey’s book Droxfield Railway Station, Katrina Navikas’s essay in Kennington48 – Another Look about the Chartist demonstration led by the Black British activist William Cuffay, as well her important book Another Look; Protest and the Politics of Space and Place, 1789-1848. Stefan’s The Conspiracy of Good Taste examines the repression of C20th working class culture. There are Sean Creighton’s The Importance of Peterloo, From Exclusion to Political Control – Radical and Working Class Organisation in Battersea 1830s-1918, Battersea Women’s Activism 1890s-1914, Organising Together in Lambeth – A Historical Review of Co-operative and Mutual Social Action, Lambeth Radical before Chartism, Kennington 1848 – Chartism in Lambeth – an introduction, Lambeth History Collection of Miscellaneous Notes and Railwaymen and Brunswick House.
Autobiographies
Eric Sanders is an Austrian Jew who came to Britain after the Nazi takeover of Austria. He is 100 years old on election day. Secret Operations is the first volume of his autobiography up to the end of the Second World War. Not A Proper Child, written by Elizabeth Sheppard, is the life story of artist Nicky Nicholls, who overcame a childhood of severe abuse and years spent street homeless and struggling with alcohol addiction to achieve a successful career as an artist. Part love story, part memoir and part protest at a brutal culture which robbed a child of her right to dignity, care and protection, the book pays tribute to the spirit and will to survive of an exceptional woman.
Arts and Culture
Artist Stefan Szczelkun produces books, videos, art works and other activities that are intended to challenge our assumptions about what Arts and Culture is. He is part of what is sometimes called ‘experimental art’. “But shouldn’t all art try to get us to see our current reality in a new light?” His titles on the stall are: Composition, The Conspiracy of Good Taste, Chalet Fields of the Gower, and Improvisation Rites.
Poetry
If you like poetry then why not come and buy The Selected Poems of James P. Hotchkiss.
Novels and Short Stories
Eric Sanders has written a two part novel Mazes about the murder of a British diplomat in Munich and the rise of the Nazis. They are available together at the special event price of £15. Ann Orridge is a co-author of The Word of Freedom – short stories on the theme of suffrage and women’s rights. All profits go to Hestia, which campaigns against modern slavery and helps families in crisis. Maximilian Hawker offers Breaking the Foals set in the historical Troy of myth which tells an original story set within the context of Homer’s ancient poetry.
Politics and Economics
Andrew Fisher’s The Failed Experiment is an analysis of the 2008 crash. Andrew works for Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell. The book is at the special price of £3, due to the fact that the publisher has retired and has just a few copies left. There is also Croydon Front Line, analysis of the 2011 riots. As we come to the General Election it is worth remembering the struggle for the vote as discussed by Katrina Navikas and Sean Creighton (see above).
Cathedrals – Did you know….?
Power, glory, bloodshed, prayer: cathedrals in the UK are as much about human drama as spiritual sanctuary, as much about political wrangling as religious fervour. The Cathedrals of Britain series takes you behind the scenes in some of the nation’s oldest buildings to discover their secrets and treasures – the ideal companion to the stories behind the greatest cathedrals of all. Whether you’re visiting the cathedrals themselves or enjoying the ‘journey’ from your armchair, you’ll find the answer to all of these questions inside:
Which cathedral is the longest in Britain and one of the biggest medieval churches in the world?
Which one of London’s cathedrals was originally vetoed by church authorities and is lucky to be in existence at all?
Westminster Abbey claims to have crowned every English monarch – but one of them was crowned in this English cathedral. Which one?
Which cathedral inspired the nursery rhyme Hickory Dickory Dock?
Which Welsh cathedral is linked to the song ‘Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag’?
The cat in this London cathedral has become a social media celebrity with its own Twitter account and large range of merchandise. Which cathedral?
Which Scottish cathedral is named in honour of a 7th century Greek hermit?
Which cathedral spire was once the tallest structure in the world, higher even than the Pyramids?
Which northern cathedral is linked to one of the country’s best-loved books?
Which cathedral is the final resting place of one of England’s most famous queens, who inadvertently changed the course of Britain’s religion forever?
Which London cathedral still isn’t finished?
