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Trouble In Paradise
Perfect for fans of Donna Douglas and Nancy Revell, a heart-warming saga set in post war London from Sunday Times bestselling author Pip Granger.
"She brings the East End to life..." - Barbara Windsor
"Read it straight through..." - ***** Reader review.
"Love her writing." - ***** Reader review.
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1945: The end of the war spreads joy through London, but for Zelda Fluck the news isn't all good. The end to hostilities will bring her violent husband Charlie home. It also sets off a chain of events that brings more strife and destruction to the people of Paradise Gardens in Hackney than did the Blitz.
That's not all. Zelda's nephew, Tony, is hanging around Brian Hole, a one-boy crime wave and only child of Ma Hole, leader of the local spivs.
But Tony can sing - he has, in fact, the voice of an angel - and Zelda's friend, Zinnia knows a voice coach in Soho whose lessons may be able to straighten Tony out.
The people Zelda meets there change her life. Will she find a way out of Hackney and her failed marriage?
Trouble in Paradise is a prequel to Pip Granger's Rosie novels...
"She brings the East End to life..." - Barbara Windsor
"Read it straight through..." - ***** Reader review.
"Love her writing." - ***** Reader review.
***************************
1945: The end of the war spreads joy through London, but for Zelda Fluck the news isn't all good. The end to hostilities will bring her violent husband Charlie home. It also sets off a chain of events that brings more strife and destruction to the people of Paradise Gardens in Hackney than did the Blitz.
That's not all. Zelda's nephew, Tony, is hanging around Brian Hole, a one-boy crime wave and only child of Ma Hole, leader of the local spivs.
But Tony can sing - he has, in fact, the voice of an angel - and Zelda's friend, Zinnia knows a voice coach in Soho whose lessons may be able to straighten Tony out.
The people Zelda meets there change her life. Will she find a way out of Hackney and her failed marriage?
Trouble in Paradise is a prequel to Pip Granger's Rosie novels...
528 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2004
59 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Pip Granger
9 books14 followersPip Granger was born in Cuckfield, Sussex, in 1947. Her first job was with the City of Westminster, teaching children who had been excluded from school because of emotional and health problems, and she worked as a literacy and special needs teacher in Stoke Newington and Hackney in the 1970s and 1980s. After quitting teaching, she wrote for a while on non-fiction partworks, including My Garden and My Child.
Pip began to write fiction only in the 1990s. Her older brother, Peter, was diagnosed with brain cancer, and she wanted to memorialise their extraordinary childhood. The resulting book, Not All Tarts are Apple, was the unanimous winner of the first Harry Bowling Prize for London writing in 2000, and was published in 2002. A sequel, The Widow Ginger, was published the following year, and Trouble in Paradise in 2004. No Peace for the Wicked in April 2005.
Alone, a memoir of her extraordinary childhood, appeared in Corgi in June 2007. Her next book, Up West, an ‘emotional history’ of London’s West End in the two decades between VE Day and the birth of Swinging London
Pip began to write fiction only in the 1990s. Her older brother, Peter, was diagnosed with brain cancer, and she wanted to memorialise their extraordinary childhood. The resulting book, Not All Tarts are Apple, was the unanimous winner of the first Harry Bowling Prize for London writing in 2000, and was published in 2002. A sequel, The Widow Ginger, was published the following year, and Trouble in Paradise in 2004. No Peace for the Wicked in April 2005.
Alone, a memoir of her extraordinary childhood, appeared in Corgi in June 2007. Her next book, Up West, an ‘emotional history’ of London’s West End in the two decades between VE Day and the birth of Swinging London
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 22, 2020
Men are coming home from war. Some are made welcome, others not so much. Some women have lost their husbands. But they are all there for each other. Zelda Flock's husband is abusive and a thief. Zelda eventually gets help from Zinnia Makepeace.
This is the prequel to Not All Tarts Are Apples. This time, it's the story of Zelda Flock. The characters are well rounded and believable. You are drawn into the story from the first few pages.
I would like to thank #NetGalley #RandomHouseUK #TransworldPublishers and the author #PipGranger for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This is the prequel to Not All Tarts Are Apples. This time, it's the story of Zelda Flock. The characters are well rounded and believable. You are drawn into the story from the first few pages.
I would like to thank #NetGalley #RandomHouseUK #TransworldPublishers and the author #PipGranger for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
May 25, 2020
2020 bk 173. This is very much a novel of time and place. The 2nd world war is over, and for the Brits, the time of homecoming will fast be arriving. For Zelda, this is not a time of joy. Her husband turned out to be a bully, a wife beater, and a thief. Her family cannot help her and she has few friends other than family, that is until Miss Makepiece the local wise woman takes an interest. These folks live in a very small area of London known as Paradise Gardens - basically a block or two of homes that have been lived in by city folk for generations - as isolated as an Inuit village, but within the larger London area. With Zinnia Makepiece's assistance, Zelda allows her world to grow and her reach to step outside the familiar. A lovely book with interesting characters.
August 9, 2020
Trouble in Paradise by Pip Granger
The neighborhood is Paradise Gardens, but it is anything but that. Even though the war is winding down and supposedly over , it has only heated up between Zelda’s family & friends against the Ma Hole Gang. Zelda is married to a wicked evil relative of this gang which doesn’t exactly calm down issues.
Zelda is a fixer and peacemaker of her family & neighborhood, unfortunately she hasn’t been able to do that in her own household. Zelda is a victim of spousal abuse and while the War was active she was in seventh heaven because her loser of a husband was stationed elsewhere. Unfortunately, he was due home and she knew the beatings would resume. What she does next to help herself and others is what sets off World War III in the neighborhood.
The author has a great plot but with trying to connect all the different characters and stories with families and who was doing what to whom got confusing at times. The book tended to drag in sections. I believe the secondary characters who played major roles throughout the novel should have more of a final resolution at the ending. I can only contend the reason they were left up in the air intentional because of possible future series. The book tended to drag in sections and that is where the author might have evolved the development of the characters tighter.
Thank you to the author and publisher for diligently working so hard to provide us the readers books!
I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and this is my willingly given thoughts and opinions.
The neighborhood is Paradise Gardens, but it is anything but that. Even though the war is winding down and supposedly over , it has only heated up between Zelda’s family & friends against the Ma Hole Gang. Zelda is married to a wicked evil relative of this gang which doesn’t exactly calm down issues.
Zelda is a fixer and peacemaker of her family & neighborhood, unfortunately she hasn’t been able to do that in her own household. Zelda is a victim of spousal abuse and while the War was active she was in seventh heaven because her loser of a husband was stationed elsewhere. Unfortunately, he was due home and she knew the beatings would resume. What she does next to help herself and others is what sets off World War III in the neighborhood.
The author has a great plot but with trying to connect all the different characters and stories with families and who was doing what to whom got confusing at times. The book tended to drag in sections. I believe the secondary characters who played major roles throughout the novel should have more of a final resolution at the ending. I can only contend the reason they were left up in the air intentional because of possible future series. The book tended to drag in sections and that is where the author might have evolved the development of the characters tighter.
Thank you to the author and publisher for diligently working so hard to provide us the readers books!
I received an advanced copy from NetGalley and this is my willingly given thoughts and opinions.
July 27, 2020
Trouble in Paradise is the literary equivalent of mac-and-cheese: not fancy, but comforting, tasty, and satisfying. London's East End and Soho in the days immediately after the end of World War II seemed to be evoked perfectly, from the tin tubs that needed to be filled for a bath to the finagling required to make a halfway decent meal from rations and veg grown on allotments. The story zipped along, the characters were for the most part believable (though I do wonder if East Enders of that time really were so tolerant of effeminate gay men and of Black Yank soldiers dating white London women). I quite enjoyed the time spent with this crew of characters, and it almost made me nostalgic for a past that I'd never experienced.
Thank you, Random House/Transworld and NetGalley, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you, Random House/Transworld and NetGalley, for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
October 10, 2020
Engaging Story and Great Characters.
The setting of post war comes to life through these magnificently drawn characters, all so unique. I had read a later book when Rosie was around 10 years old and loved getting the backstory from the beginning. The slang is a challenge at times to figure out, but so worth trying as I laughed and cried with these wonderful families. I'll have to read the next.
The setting of post war comes to life through these magnificently drawn characters, all so unique. I had read a later book when Rosie was around 10 years old and loved getting the backstory from the beginning. The slang is a challenge at times to figure out, but so worth trying as I laughed and cried with these wonderful families. I'll have to read the next.
August 6, 2020
Life in London after the war and things start to change. Men coming home both welcome and unwelcome. Women who have lost their husbands.. All living together in a group of houses. They all depend one each other for backup and advise. Kept together by one Zinna Makepeace the story centers around Zelda who's husband is abusive. Good story line Keeps you reading.
October 19, 2020
Another winner
Her stories are amazing. You are completely drawn into them and each and every character, whether they are good or bad people. They are so real and even if the patois is unknown, you get the gist of it and it it feels natural. You just want more,
Her stories are amazing. You are completely drawn into them and each and every character, whether they are good or bad people. They are so real and even if the patois is unknown, you get the gist of it and it it feels natural. You just want more,
July 20, 2017
I want to read the next 2 books after this now
July 22, 2020
Book 3 again is so enjoyable to read i just love these types of books with a caring community thats makes sure everyone is ok.5*
August 8, 2020
fo
It is an excellent book. I learned a lot about England in 1945! Characterization was believable!I recommend this very intriguing novel😄
It is an excellent book. I learned a lot about England in 1945! Characterization was believable!I recommend this very intriguing novel😄
October 19, 2020
Excellent book
I am a true Anglophile and especially love the spirit of the British during WW2. This book provided a wonderful background of the hardships they endured.
I am a true Anglophile and especially love the spirit of the British during WW2. This book provided a wonderful background of the hardships they endured.
February 4, 2011
Envy, pride, and weakness spur the troubles experienced in the Paradise neighborhood. A loverly fictional period piece surrounding a working class neighborhood in wartime England revolving around support and conflict within families, between neighbors, and nations. The main character, Zelda, has husband trouble which is held at bay by his being in the army. Luckily, Zelda has lots of support from friends, her mother and grandmother, and a healer in the neighborhood, Zinnia.
The war itself creates homefront conflicts with husbands and brothers away at the front, killed in action, and, worst of all, missing in action all of which plays havoc with wives and the children. One in particular, Tony, is mixed up with a bad crowd and, in desperation, Zelda, with Zinnia's help, finds a voice coach in hopes of redirecting Tony's interests by supporting his desire to sing.
A very believable story with realistic characters, Trouble in Paradise comes alive from the very first page. Granger has caught the language...oh man, has she caught the language! If you've ever wanted to immerse yourself in English slang, read this! Granger conveys the trials and tribulations of wartime shortages as well as the camaraderie of the people in surviving. No, not surviving. Overcoming the awfulness of war. This is a neighborhood in which you want to live with their Sunday dinners of compiled ration cards and knees-ups organized on the spur of the moment. A world which comes together to help. And watch the seed of separation begin.
A story which is very difficult to put down...and I can't wait to read another of Granger's stories.
The war itself creates homefront conflicts with husbands and brothers away at the front, killed in action, and, worst of all, missing in action all of which plays havoc with wives and the children. One in particular, Tony, is mixed up with a bad crowd and, in desperation, Zelda, with Zinnia's help, finds a voice coach in hopes of redirecting Tony's interests by supporting his desire to sing.
A very believable story with realistic characters, Trouble in Paradise comes alive from the very first page. Granger has caught the language...oh man, has she caught the language! If you've ever wanted to immerse yourself in English slang, read this! Granger conveys the trials and tribulations of wartime shortages as well as the camaraderie of the people in surviving. No, not surviving. Overcoming the awfulness of war. This is a neighborhood in which you want to live with their Sunday dinners of compiled ration cards and knees-ups organized on the spur of the moment. A world which comes together to help. And watch the seed of separation begin.
A story which is very difficult to put down...and I can't wait to read another of Granger's stories.
August 10, 2010
Trouble in Paradise is the prequel to "Not all Tarts are Apple". It is the story of Zelda Flock and her colorful neighbors. Lots of trouble lurks about in 1940's post-war London.
December 17, 2014
Liked this one better than The Widow Ginger. It makes me want to go back and reread Not All Tarts Are Apple, now that I know Zelda's backstory!
August 9, 2011
Prequel to Granger's stories of post-war Soho--very appealling.
June 4, 2013
Interesting side story to her other two books. I found it much more interesting then her other two books.
June 15, 2013
The first adult's-eye view of the series. Stands alone. Explores the past of one of the characters in the other books.
December 8, 2014
This is the prequel to "Not All Tarts Are Apple"
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews