Battersea Girl: Tracing a London Life

by Martin Knight

Ellen Tregent was born in 1888 and died in 1988—her lifetime encompassing an unprecedented century of social change and world upheaval. In Battersea Girl, Martin Knight charts his grandmother's long and eventful life and the lives of her siblings. They encounter abject poverty, disease, suicide, war, and inevitably death, but as they do, they maintain their spirit as stoical people who were determined to make the most of their lives.

270 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2006

Reviews

[Mark Rubenstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the final pages of his evocative London novel, Windows On The Moon, Alan Brownjohn concluded that “It was odd that the most important parts of life, the things that changed you forever, went on in the midst of so much ordinariness, so many trivial things.”

It’s Martin Knight's understanding of this, coupled with his understanding that history begins as living memory fades, which give Battersea Girl its wealth of vitality. The book had its genesis decades earlier when, as a childhood school project, Martin Knight began to document the life of his grandmother, Ellen “Nell” Tregent [1888-1988]. Through Nell’s reminiscences of family, neighborhood, and experiences both personal and collective, a remarkable life unfolds as a century’s worth of change — some welcomed, others not — eventually renders the world unrecognisable.

Epic in its scope, Battersea Girl never fails to engage in ways both inspirational and heartbreaking, not merely evoking a time and a place, but transporting the reader to that time and place with great ease and facility. From Nell’s recounting of her grandfather’s emigration to London from the ravages of the famine in Galway, and through the Boer War, the 14-18 War and World War Two, the ever-present Thames serves as main player in the story, both giving life and taking life away, the river's strength and endurance mirroring Nell’s own.

With Battersea Girl, Martin Knight has bequeathed a gift to be treasured not only by his own familial descendants for generations to come, but to be treasured by all who read it.

[Nigeyb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Battersea Girl: Tracing a London Life is a superb account of the life and times of Ellen Tregent, a working class resident of Battersea, London, who was born in 1988 and who died a hundred years later. Martin Knight is Ellen's grandson.

Battersea Girl: Tracing a London Life brilliantly charts Ellen's long and eventful life, and those of her sibblings. Her stoical attitude saw her through poverty, suicide, murder, tragedy, wars and death. She was a remarkable woman and, most likely, quite typical of many of her peers.

If you're interested in London, the drama of ordinary lives, and social history, then you will love this book. I defy anyone to put this book down without a tear in their eye. Highly recommended.

5/5

[Roo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book, retelling the life of Ellen Tregent who was born in 1888 and died in 1988. Living her whole life in Battersea. This book is lively and the people remembered full of life, I felt sometimes I was just a breath away. Nell had a long life, some highs and many lows, which she dealt with stoically. She was very much the matriarch.
A fantastic glimpse into 19th/20th century South London. You don't have to come from South London (but I do) to be captivated by this book.

[Josie · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Audiobook version]

This straddles the line between fiction and non-fiction -- in the prologue the author emphasised how much research he'd done, but he also makes up scenes and conversations in order to tell a better story. So, yeah, there's a fair bit of supposition, but it does make the story flow better even if it's not 100% true. And it's an engaging account of a woman who lived through 100 years of history and social change.

[LoLo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was a little uncomfortable with the concept at first as the author readily admits to fictionalising aspects he didn't know/had been forgotten over the years and so I was unsure as to how much was actually accurate. But it didn't take long before I did get invested in the story and the fascinating life this 100 year old woman lived and all the big events of history, as well as more intimate details of a family, she has witnessed. These are the admirable sorts of tales you can hear on Who Do You Think You Are or Call the Midwife - the mass migration caused by the potato famine, the two world wars, the Depression, Suffrage, the Civil Rights Movement and how they changed one family battling for survival. There's some very sad tales to be told by Nell, yet her power of endurance and willingness to keep fighting never seems to waiver.