Liverpool Taffy: Family Saga

by Katie Flynn

Life is hard in 1930s Liverpool, and Biddy O'Shaughnessy is left destitute when her widowed mother dies. Forced to work all hours for Ma Kettle, owner of the local sweet shop, she can soon take no more and runs away. At first luck appears to be on her side. Sharing a flat with Ellen, an old school pal who has a special 'friend' paying the rent, keeps the wolf from the door. But fate conspires against them and Biddy finds herself homeless once more, living rough on the mean streets of Liverpool. When she applies for the post of maid with the Gallagher family, Biddy starts to feel she might at last be able to lead a normal life. Especially when she meets Dai, a young Welshman working the trawlers. But Nellie Gallagher has a secret that will change all their lives...

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Katie Flynn was born in Norwich and attended Norwich High School, where she was extremely happy and extremely undistinguished. Published at the tender age of eight, in Enid Blyton's Sunny Stories, she joined a Writers’ Circle as an adult, publishing short stories, articles, etc; only turning to novels in 1971 because the postal strike cut off her main source of income!
At first she wrote under several different names – Judith Saxton, Judy Turner, Lydia Balmain, Judith Arden – but her Katie Flynn books were a delight to write and proved far more popular than she had dreamed. She has now published nearly ninety novels, twenty-seven of which are Flynns. Her most recent titles are: Lost Days of Summer and Christmas Wishes.

Reviews

[Shirley Revill · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite authors and I loved this book. Never been disappointed with a book by Katie Flynn. Recommended.

[Shirley Dawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very good descriptive story with likeable characters. However, I'm not sure the writing style is to my taste. Sometimes it felt wrong grammatically and sometimes it didn't really make much sense. Some sentences did not flow - eg "they had noticed her, had been hoping she would get on all right...." - the joining word 'and' is missing! I'm 'old school' and I've noticed other authors doing this now but it just doesn't sit right with me. I struggled too with the Liverpool dialect and dialogue but I do understand that she had to make it as authentic as possible. Hence I can only award three stars, a bit of a let down with such a good story.

[Rashi Jain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another unputdownable for me and the lots. So many emotions bundled up in those little pages; sorrow-of loosing loved ones, deadly fear of being robbed, being put in jail, of being killed or worse of being raped! Then there is joy of having found a home, a family, a long lost love and the willingness to live yet again.

I am saving the book to read again in difficult times. It's do full of hope and courage and the love that one longs for in life. A definite read and a promising one indeed. Go for it!

[Jacquie South · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read. Will keep my eyes open for other Katie Flynn books.

[Tracy Wainwright · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good story, thorough enjoyed it.

[Sammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grabbed this at random from a tiny selection in a corner shop for £2 before a spa trip a few years ago, figuring it's cheaper than a magazine. It must have been an entertaining spa trip because I never opened it and it's gathered dust ever since.

I'm now trying to read all my unread books, so this book finally had its turn. Wow! It was just the tonic I needed right now. It's a classic paperback romance set in the 1930s - with all the necessary heartbreak and adversity thrown in, but in such a way that you know everything will be okay in the end, and it never actually emotionally guts you. It was like eating a big warm piece of apple crumble, which was just what I needed <3

[Christina Tookey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely story.

This story was captivating. Very enjoyable, they found each other in the end even though there were many UPS and downs. I have downloaded other Katie Flynn books which I am sure will be just as enjoyable.

[Carole S. Short · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent read couldn't put it down

[Ayny · Rating 4 out of 5]

interesting and realistic story.

[Jo vegan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first book 📚 written by this author and not one I’d usually read. Set in the 30’s in Liverpool. I loved it and read it in about 2 days

[Gill James · Rating 4 out of 5]

enjoyed reading this. The characters were believable though sometimes what happened to them was surprising. A good holiday read especially if you like historical fiction about ordinary folk.

[Angharad Sanders · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story :)

[Chery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hmmmm.... Really loved the storyline but what a poo ending. It was one of those to check if the pages are missing. Moving on to A Liverpool Lass and hoping the end is not like this.

[Jacqui · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I thought was a sequel to A Liverpool Lass instead was a completely different story which slightly involved previous characters. While this was a good approach the overall story followed a similar character to the previous novel who had to overcome adversity before living happily ever after. All in all this book is good for a happy story time and not for a mind altering adventure.

[Charlie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wasn't my favourite of Katie Flynn. Found it slow and uneventful