Four Meals for Fourpence

by Grace Foakes

A heartwarming memoir of working-class life in the East End in the early 1900s   I was born in a tenement flat in the East End of London in the year in which Queen Victoria died.  In this book, Grace Foakes shares her memories of her girlhood in Wapping in the early 1900s. With a child’s uncluttered eye, she describes the small details—shopping in the market, men waiting for work at the dock gates, the rituals of washday, and the sights, sounds, and smells of the old East End of London. She also describes the fear—of illness, of unemployment, of the workhouse—that hung over her family and thousands like them, and her determination that her own children would never know the kind of poverty she had experienced.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Memoir, London

288 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2011

Reviews

[H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very, very quick read. A little repetitive at times but extremely interesting. Could use some editing. Reads as a transcript of an interview but the simplistic style suits the authors memoir.

[Hol]

This book is subtitled "a heartwarming tale"--evidently Virago's marketing department rejected "a bleak tale" and "a chilling tale." I liked this memoir of growing up in Wapping very much. The author's voice is so unaffected (it reads almost like a cleaned-up transcript of interviews), and because it's a memoir of childhood, her recollections center on impressions of noisy docks and fragrant tea warehouses rather than, say, poor sanitation and infant mortality; this narrowness made reading it bearable.

[Mollie Pye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very quick and heartwarming read, especially for those who’s family are from the East End.

[Andi Gaywood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having just finished this book with a burst of renewed vigour I can say it is a wonderful book of hardship, love, determination, surviving, family life and struggles in an era of poverty. Although by comparison we live in better times I feel a lot of the struggles People had should make us more prepared a draft ready for hard times.

However the easy times we have in an era of time saving gadgets, very little manual work and in all honesty laziness we would not cope if we had to rely on. our own initiative and braun.

The book is a facsinating account of a person's life and world written in a frank and honest style. A rollercoaster​ ride of life's ups and downs I. the hardest of times. we can all learn from these texts to help us combat greed and today's self orientated living. A bit of modesty, compassion and self discipline could help with so.e of today's struggles, hardships and woes.

[karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Different from the usual East End childhood

Most of the other East End childhood memoirs I have read have all had one thing in common , in the respect that all of the fathers were heavy drinkers . The author although from a poor family , seemed to have sufficient to meet her needs and the fact the family were teetotal meant they significantly better off than many of their neighbours. Very readable and enjoyable book.

[Lauryn Kavanagh-Coombes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book; the tone of the writing makes it sound as though you are sat in Grace's living room, listening to her reminisce about times gone by over a cup of tea. Grace discusses the ups and downs of life at the beginning of the last century. She paints an idyllic care-free childhood in many ways, but is not afraid to sugar-coat the hardships that go with the times and circumstances. Recommended for anyone looking to hear a little more about early 20th century London.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting account, especially if you're researching what life was like around the turn of the 20th century. But the stories didn't always flow together well and though I was aware it was written in the 60s/70s it was still a shame to come across occasional offensive and discriminatory language.

[Brian Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poignant and nostalgic.

[Jackie Sykes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard times

As you read this book you realised that life has changed very much in a hundred years. For the better you decide

[Novelle Novels]

Very good book and London and families in the early 1900’s..

[Emily mason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book, couldn't put it down. Looking foward to reading some of her others

[Patricia Nicholson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Four meals for fourpence

A great book that went from her childhood then marriage to raising a family through to becoming a widow a truly heartfelt story

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute courage, resourcefulness, and ingenuity in times when times were hard. But Grace just got on with life!

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great read to get a feel of life one hundred years ago and how far we have come.

[Anntonia Orchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

We don't know how lucky we are today

[hgreenleaf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read Between High Walls in the early 1970s. lost my copy in the next 40 years. always remembered it in the back of my mind so when i came across it on amazon immediately bought a copy. It retains its punch and is, i think, superior to many such memoirs written at a later date. Artless and very detailed, the writer was obviously highly intelligent. Would love to know more about her parents and their background. Shows us the good old days as they really were. Robert Platt is a real Victorian father, hitting his singing child in the face for accidently waking him up on a Sunday and trying to drown their old cat in the copper....however the family were lucky in many ways to have a frugal, hardworking and teetotal father.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learnt a few things from this book and reminded of others. Hope someone told her there are still quite a few "Pie and Mash" shops about that also sell stewed eels, although don't think anywhere has live eels swimming in a tank. Think they have even gone from Wet fish shops. A lot of the things she had written were still happening at a much later date than the time she was writing but thank goodness a lot of others have ceased .

[Manuelle Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grace greatly depicted the story of her life time. She vividly leads me to the understanding of how life was in her generation and made me appreciate mine even more. The comparison of both was made not to be offensive or the like but all the more a brief discussion in that part of history.

Mrs. Foakes guarantees her autobiography, part history and applicable defining lessons all in one book, giving it a five.

[S. Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just like having a really good talk with your gran (over tea and cake) about her recollections of her life. I love the sense of camaraderie of the people and families, even though they don't have a 'pot to p*ss in' they care about each other. A rose-tinted memoir, maybe, but a really 'warm' read.

[Rosalind M · Rating 4 out of 5]

A frank and unvarnished look at childhood in England in the 1900s. This could serve as a valuable research tool for writers and is a bleak reminder of how far we've come in such a short timespan. I shudder to think of the workload that was part of everyday life for most people back then.

[Jenni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Womans account of growing up in poverty just before the war. It was interesting to find out how the family coped with poverty with little money. I would like to read the follow on to this where she talks about her marriage to Rueben and the difficulties she has rearing the children.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book of very vivid memories of a childhood spent in the East End of London at the turn of the 19th century. Made me feel very lucky.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Absolutely no story. This is Non fictional book about a woman growing up in the East end. Its very factual and enlightening to compart to what we have now. Story however there is not one....

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heartwarming.

[Susan Goldman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice easy read about a bygone age. I love social history books so this was perfect for me.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. An easy read full of fascinating insights into a time long past