What do you think?
Rate this book
Yesterday
YESTERDAY: Winner of the Guardian Legend Times Self-Published Book of the Month award, November 2014.
During the riots between the Mods and Rockers in the early Sixties, teenager Cathy finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the events which follow will haunt her for the rest of her life. Forty years later as a middle-aged journalist, she’s forced to revisit her past, deal with her unhappy memories and try to find out exactly what did happen back in 1964.
During the riots between the Mods and Rockers in the early Sixties, teenager Cathy finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the events which follow will haunt her for the rest of her life. Forty years later as a middle-aged journalist, she’s forced to revisit her past, deal with her unhappy memories and try to find out exactly what did happen back in 1964.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 8, 2014
14 people are currently reading
20 people want to read
About the author
Sheila Norton
62 books160 followersWinner of the RoNAs 'Christmas and Winter Seasonal Award' novel, 2022, with 'Winter at Cliff's End Cottage'.
I live in Chelmsford, UK, with my husband Alan. We have three married daughters and six grandchildren. I've been writing ever since I was a little girl, and finally achieved my lifelong ambition to have a novel published, with the acceptance in 2002 of 'The Trouble With Ally'. Prior to this, I'd been having short stories published in women's magazines for about ten years.
My most recent books are stories set in the English county of Devon, and most include pets in the story! They are feel-good contemporary fiction.
I worked for most of my life as a medical secretary. I now write full-time. I like to relax by reading, walking,swimming, and seeing my family and friends.
I am passionate about my writing and love to hear from my readers. I am also happy to give talks to writers' groups and others, and book signings, in my local area.
I live in Chelmsford, UK, with my husband Alan. We have three married daughters and six grandchildren. I've been writing ever since I was a little girl, and finally achieved my lifelong ambition to have a novel published, with the acceptance in 2002 of 'The Trouble With Ally'. Prior to this, I'd been having short stories published in women's magazines for about ten years.
My most recent books are stories set in the English county of Devon, and most include pets in the story! They are feel-good contemporary fiction.
I worked for most of my life as a medical secretary. I now write full-time. I like to relax by reading, walking,swimming, and seeing my family and friends.
I am passionate about my writing and love to hear from my readers. I am also happy to give talks to writers' groups and others, and book signings, in my local area.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 28, 2021
Working on a story for the 40-year anniversary of the violent clashes between mods and rockers in 1960's Britain, journalist Cathy Ferguson takes a trip down memory lane, recalling the music and movements, friends and enemies, family and romance that occupied her teenage years. I didn't know all that much about the era and the events the book is based on, having only occasionally heard them mentioned in passing as they were both before my time and very much a British phenomenon, but it certainly felt like Sheila Norton did a good job bringing them to life on the page.
March 11, 2015
It is almost 51 years ago since the mayhem and chaos at the seaside resorts of Clacton and Brighton involving the Mods and Rockers, and yet Yesterday keeps the whole era alive with the music, fashions, dialogue, and day-to-day life. Focusing on the life of fourteen year old Cathy, Yesterday delves into her involvement with the Mods and Rockers, her friends and bullies at school, pressure from her mum to get good grades, trouble with her mum’s new male friend, and a violent stabbing that involves someone she knew!
We begin the story in 2004 where Cathy, a journalist and now in her mid-fifties, is given the chance to write a story on the era she knows a great deal about – the Mods and Rockers of the 1960’s. Little does her editor know that she may be able to fill in the blanks of a crime story that would be full of interest in the public eye, as well as opening up some wounds of the past and releasing some ghosts of her own! Yes, this story is certainly personal, just as it is informative.
The reader is then taken back to March, 1963, where Cathy meets Janice Baker. Janice Baker is two years older than Cathy. She is both cool and pretty. Being sixteen and having parents that do not trouble her too much, Janice can almost do what she wants. She wears the fashions, including make-up, and has magazines featuring many bands including The Beatles, which Cathy absolutely loves to look at – especially if Paul McCartney is pictured with those beautiful puppy dog eyes of his! Cathy’s fascination is so exciting to read about, and after travelling home from school regularly on the bus at the same time as Janice they begin to chat about the culture of the day, embarking on a close friendship.
Each chapter is set in a different month from thereon, leading up to the beach fights and afterwards, as we follow the story of a terrible ordeal that Cathy has at Clacton, a stabbing later in Brighton, as well as some home troubles for poor Cathy. We watch her friendship grow with Janice, her romance blossom with her brother’s friend, Jimmy, and her relationship with her mum take a downward spiral when she finds out what her mum has been quiet about for some time.
The mystery of the story is surrounding the stabbing at Brighton. Janice’s Mod ex-boyfriend, Ian, is the victim but the culprit is yet to be determined. After the violence and Cathy’s ordeal from the first beach fight in Clacton, Cathy believed all of her friends and her brother had stayed away this time. However, Cathy has a bad feeling about this, especially since it was Ian that brought on her ordeal in Clacton! Could it simply be his stabbing was a result of yet another fight between many Mods and Rockers who just lost it with each other and things got out of hand? Or was it that somebody intentionally stabbed him? Could it have been someone she knew? And, could it have been anything to do with her ordeal?
After her ordeal in Clacton, she ran to meet with her Rocker brother, Derek. However, when he wasn’t at the café he said he would be at, Cathy stayed there waiting for him to show. She was trying to cope with the teasing and taunts from the Rockers (as she was dressed as a Mod!), when a lad with Paul McCartney’s soft, brown eyes defended her, and offered to walk her to the station so she could get home safely. This is Jimmy. Lovely, sweet Jimmy, and a Rocker friend of her brother’s. And this is the beginning of an attraction between them. She becomes closer to Jimmy as he turns up ‘looking for Derek’ a few times at her home, and they begin to see each other over time.
But, he is her secret. As Janice would say, there’s no way you can go out with a greasy Rocker. She can’t be seen in public with him, or even tell Janice about him. She would be outcast and taunted forever if her friends knew. Cathy begins to realise that Mods and Rockers do not mix – you are either one or the other (in the eyes of her friends). But, she finds this ridiculous, as does Jimmy and her brother. But, she soon learns the hard way, and risks losing everything – Janice and Jimmy! Will their friendship, and love, survive? What can Cathy do to keep it all running smoothly?
The characters of Yesterday are all brilliant and realistic. One of my favourite characters of the story is Cathy’s brother, Derek, a Rocker. He is a caring older brother, looking out for her when he can, buying her the occasional record (even if it is a Mod one!) that she’d never be able to afford with her little pocket money, and even letting her play it on his record player when he was out. This shows the sort of relationship they had – they were very close and didn’t really care deep down whether you were a Mod or a Rocker.
And then there is Cathy’s other school friend, Linda. Linda was always seen as ‘square’ and didn’t really fit in either category. She was happy doing her own thing, being an individual. And, besides, she was too busy looking after her ill mother. But when Cathy began her friendship with Janice, Cathy began to leave Linda behind, only to realise later that Linda was very mature and didn’t get wrapped up with whose side to be on, what group to belong to, etc.
Yesterday is well-researched and has a fantastic feel of the era with perfect, realistic characters to draw the reader in. It is written so well it is easy to visualise the story with many references to the times, with social and financial aspects in particular. There is great dialogue between the characters with a real British 1960’s charm. Pop culture and fashions are mentioned but are not overdone, allowing the reader to really enjoy the fantastic narrative running through the book!
A copy of Yesterday was provided by the author in return for an honest and fair review.
We begin the story in 2004 where Cathy, a journalist and now in her mid-fifties, is given the chance to write a story on the era she knows a great deal about – the Mods and Rockers of the 1960’s. Little does her editor know that she may be able to fill in the blanks of a crime story that would be full of interest in the public eye, as well as opening up some wounds of the past and releasing some ghosts of her own! Yes, this story is certainly personal, just as it is informative.
The reader is then taken back to March, 1963, where Cathy meets Janice Baker. Janice Baker is two years older than Cathy. She is both cool and pretty. Being sixteen and having parents that do not trouble her too much, Janice can almost do what she wants. She wears the fashions, including make-up, and has magazines featuring many bands including The Beatles, which Cathy absolutely loves to look at – especially if Paul McCartney is pictured with those beautiful puppy dog eyes of his! Cathy’s fascination is so exciting to read about, and after travelling home from school regularly on the bus at the same time as Janice they begin to chat about the culture of the day, embarking on a close friendship.
Each chapter is set in a different month from thereon, leading up to the beach fights and afterwards, as we follow the story of a terrible ordeal that Cathy has at Clacton, a stabbing later in Brighton, as well as some home troubles for poor Cathy. We watch her friendship grow with Janice, her romance blossom with her brother’s friend, Jimmy, and her relationship with her mum take a downward spiral when she finds out what her mum has been quiet about for some time.
The mystery of the story is surrounding the stabbing at Brighton. Janice’s Mod ex-boyfriend, Ian, is the victim but the culprit is yet to be determined. After the violence and Cathy’s ordeal from the first beach fight in Clacton, Cathy believed all of her friends and her brother had stayed away this time. However, Cathy has a bad feeling about this, especially since it was Ian that brought on her ordeal in Clacton! Could it simply be his stabbing was a result of yet another fight between many Mods and Rockers who just lost it with each other and things got out of hand? Or was it that somebody intentionally stabbed him? Could it have been someone she knew? And, could it have been anything to do with her ordeal?
After her ordeal in Clacton, she ran to meet with her Rocker brother, Derek. However, when he wasn’t at the café he said he would be at, Cathy stayed there waiting for him to show. She was trying to cope with the teasing and taunts from the Rockers (as she was dressed as a Mod!), when a lad with Paul McCartney’s soft, brown eyes defended her, and offered to walk her to the station so she could get home safely. This is Jimmy. Lovely, sweet Jimmy, and a Rocker friend of her brother’s. And this is the beginning of an attraction between them. She becomes closer to Jimmy as he turns up ‘looking for Derek’ a few times at her home, and they begin to see each other over time.
But, he is her secret. As Janice would say, there’s no way you can go out with a greasy Rocker. She can’t be seen in public with him, or even tell Janice about him. She would be outcast and taunted forever if her friends knew. Cathy begins to realise that Mods and Rockers do not mix – you are either one or the other (in the eyes of her friends). But, she finds this ridiculous, as does Jimmy and her brother. But, she soon learns the hard way, and risks losing everything – Janice and Jimmy! Will their friendship, and love, survive? What can Cathy do to keep it all running smoothly?
The characters of Yesterday are all brilliant and realistic. One of my favourite characters of the story is Cathy’s brother, Derek, a Rocker. He is a caring older brother, looking out for her when he can, buying her the occasional record (even if it is a Mod one!) that she’d never be able to afford with her little pocket money, and even letting her play it on his record player when he was out. This shows the sort of relationship they had – they were very close and didn’t really care deep down whether you were a Mod or a Rocker.
And then there is Cathy’s other school friend, Linda. Linda was always seen as ‘square’ and didn’t really fit in either category. She was happy doing her own thing, being an individual. And, besides, she was too busy looking after her ill mother. But when Cathy began her friendship with Janice, Cathy began to leave Linda behind, only to realise later that Linda was very mature and didn’t get wrapped up with whose side to be on, what group to belong to, etc.
Yesterday is well-researched and has a fantastic feel of the era with perfect, realistic characters to draw the reader in. It is written so well it is easy to visualise the story with many references to the times, with social and financial aspects in particular. There is great dialogue between the characters with a real British 1960’s charm. Pop culture and fashions are mentioned but are not overdone, allowing the reader to really enjoy the fantastic narrative running through the book!
A copy of Yesterday was provided by the author in return for an honest and fair review.
April 19, 2014
It’s 2004, shortly before the 40th anniversary of the Bank Holiday riots of 1964, and journalist, Cathy has been asked to write an article about her time during the riots for a Sunday supplement. To do so, Cathy has to revisit her youth to not only tell her story but also try and discover it’s ending.
Back to 1963 and an almost 14 year old Cathy has discovered The Beatles (and more importantly, Paul McCartney’s big brown eyes). On the bus home from school, she’s peeking over the shoulder of one of the older girls on the bus, who is reading a magazine article about Cathy’s favourite band. Janice invites Cathy to look at the magazine with her and when their journey ends, she sends Cathy home with a small gift – a picture of The Beatles ripped from the magazine.
Despite the two year age gap, Cathy and Janice become friends but this leads to Cathy unintentionally being drawn into one half of the Mods and Rockers divide. As Easter Weekend of 1964 looms, Cathy arranges to meet Janice on Clacton beach. When she arrives, Janice is no where to be seen. Cathy asks Janice’s boyfriend, Ian if he knows where she is but when Ian offers to take her to meet Janice, he unfortunately leads her elsewhere. Alone and scared, Cathy runs to the Red Arrow cafe to find her Brother, Del. The Red Arrow is a Rockers hangout and whilst there, Cathy meets Jimmy. The pair soon begin a forbidden relationship and Cathy discovers that the divide between the Mods and Rockers is vast, and there is no middle ground.
A few weeks later, as the Mods and Rockers head to Brighton over the Whitsun bank holiday, tragedy strikes as someone is killed and 40 years later, Cathy is yet to discover who the murderer was.
A mixture of fact and fiction, Yesterday brings together culture, romance and mystery. Cathy’s memories of the 1960′s are vivid and well described, and the use of flashbacks from the present day to the past, highlights the differences between the two eras. The Cathy of 2004 is on Friends Reunited and contacting people via email, whereas the Cathy of the 60′s didn’t even have a TV.
The teenage relationship between Cathy and Jimmy, along with the issues they face, emphasizes the divide between the Mods and Rockers whilst the focus on a small number of each group helps the reader to connect with each subculture, as well as with the characters themselves.
Without even realising it, you’ll be dragged into trying to solve a mystery along with Cathy and just as she does, you’ll find yourself considering each possible culprit for that Bank Holiday murder 40 years previously. As Cathy revisits her memories and reconnects with people she knew back in the day, small pieces of the puzzle are revealed.
With references to well known locations, such as the Ford Factory in Dagenham, and the dates of The Beatles TV appearances and local lives shows, along with the two main seaside events the book is based upon, this book is well researched but it is the personal touch from Sheila Norton, who was a similar age to Cathy in the early 60′s, that makes this book a true pleasure to read. The struggles of particular families during the early 60′s, the fight for Women’s equality both at home and at work, along with the added freedom that teenagers were offered compared to previous generations, are all brought into the story alongside the fashion and music that we’re all no doubt much more aware of.
My Rating 5/5 ~ An outstanding book that looks back at a now famous period of history. With a mixture of fact and fiction, Yesterday discusses big events from the sixties but by writing about a small group of fictitious individuals, Sheila Norton focuses on the every day lives of the people who lived through it. Like the characters in the story, the teenagers and their families at the time didn’t know they were creating history, they were just living their lives and discovering who they were, and Sheila Norton captures these moments perfectly. The addition of a Romeo & Juliet style romance alongside a murder mystery, will draw you in and keep you hooked until the very last page.
Back to 1963 and an almost 14 year old Cathy has discovered The Beatles (and more importantly, Paul McCartney’s big brown eyes). On the bus home from school, she’s peeking over the shoulder of one of the older girls on the bus, who is reading a magazine article about Cathy’s favourite band. Janice invites Cathy to look at the magazine with her and when their journey ends, she sends Cathy home with a small gift – a picture of The Beatles ripped from the magazine.
Despite the two year age gap, Cathy and Janice become friends but this leads to Cathy unintentionally being drawn into one half of the Mods and Rockers divide. As Easter Weekend of 1964 looms, Cathy arranges to meet Janice on Clacton beach. When she arrives, Janice is no where to be seen. Cathy asks Janice’s boyfriend, Ian if he knows where she is but when Ian offers to take her to meet Janice, he unfortunately leads her elsewhere. Alone and scared, Cathy runs to the Red Arrow cafe to find her Brother, Del. The Red Arrow is a Rockers hangout and whilst there, Cathy meets Jimmy. The pair soon begin a forbidden relationship and Cathy discovers that the divide between the Mods and Rockers is vast, and there is no middle ground.
A few weeks later, as the Mods and Rockers head to Brighton over the Whitsun bank holiday, tragedy strikes as someone is killed and 40 years later, Cathy is yet to discover who the murderer was.
A mixture of fact and fiction, Yesterday brings together culture, romance and mystery. Cathy’s memories of the 1960′s are vivid and well described, and the use of flashbacks from the present day to the past, highlights the differences between the two eras. The Cathy of 2004 is on Friends Reunited and contacting people via email, whereas the Cathy of the 60′s didn’t even have a TV.
The teenage relationship between Cathy and Jimmy, along with the issues they face, emphasizes the divide between the Mods and Rockers whilst the focus on a small number of each group helps the reader to connect with each subculture, as well as with the characters themselves.
Without even realising it, you’ll be dragged into trying to solve a mystery along with Cathy and just as she does, you’ll find yourself considering each possible culprit for that Bank Holiday murder 40 years previously. As Cathy revisits her memories and reconnects with people she knew back in the day, small pieces of the puzzle are revealed.
With references to well known locations, such as the Ford Factory in Dagenham, and the dates of The Beatles TV appearances and local lives shows, along with the two main seaside events the book is based upon, this book is well researched but it is the personal touch from Sheila Norton, who was a similar age to Cathy in the early 60′s, that makes this book a true pleasure to read. The struggles of particular families during the early 60′s, the fight for Women’s equality both at home and at work, along with the added freedom that teenagers were offered compared to previous generations, are all brought into the story alongside the fashion and music that we’re all no doubt much more aware of.
My Rating 5/5 ~ An outstanding book that looks back at a now famous period of history. With a mixture of fact and fiction, Yesterday discusses big events from the sixties but by writing about a small group of fictitious individuals, Sheila Norton focuses on the every day lives of the people who lived through it. Like the characters in the story, the teenagers and their families at the time didn’t know they were creating history, they were just living their lives and discovering who they were, and Sheila Norton captures these moments perfectly. The addition of a Romeo & Juliet style romance alongside a murder mystery, will draw you in and keep you hooked until the very last page.
March 11, 2017
Old fashioned story, nothing exciting happens but I finished it, just a pleasant read.
April 24, 2014
Firstly, thank you to Jennifer Cooper, Sheila’s PR, for getting in touch with me to see if I’d be interested in reading and reviewing Sheila’s latest book Yesterday. Yesterday was released on the 17th of April and you can find it here.
I was intrigued by the 60s setting and I don’t really know very much about the Mods and Rockers so that intrigued me too. The story is set in the 60s right when all of the fighting between the two groups of music/fashion followers happened. The story follows Cathy as she relives her childhood in the 60s for an article that she’s writing 40 years later.
The story starts off with a little introduction to the 2004 life of Cathy and gives a little insight into her current life. Then you are transported back to 1963 where the story really started. Most of the story is told in the 60s with Cathy narrating as she relives her past. I really felt like I was truly living that period in her life with her.
"I pushed it all to the back of my mind. But now - now I've started thinking about it again, the memories are so vivid. It's like...yesterday"
I loved the difference between then and now and how Sheila’s writing facilitated that. Teenage Cathy is easy to relate to for everyone. We’ve all been a teenager at some point and the issues she’s facing in the 60s are the same as a modern day teenager would face only the “in thing” has changed! Cathy’s teenage relationship with Jimmy and all of the ups and downs that came with that allow you to empathise with her as well, really allowing you to invest yourself in the story.
I really didn’t feel like I could guess the ending of this story. The murder of a young Mod is pivotal to Cathy’s entire story. The impact that that had on her life and the fallout from it caused her quite a lot of hardship, which is sometimes quite sad to read about but there are elements of the story, her friendship with Linda and the turnaround in her mother’s attitude that make up for the sad parts.
The 60s are often referred to as the decade of change and that theme is present throughout the relived scenes as Cathy’s journey progresses. The characters and storyline have been well thought out to bring this decade back to life again.
I loved that even 40 years on the impact that that time in her life had on the path that her life took was as profound as it was. The murder becomes important again for Cathy later on in life as she starts to look into the mystery behind it which was a bit of a guessing game as a reader trying to figure out who was behind it.
I really enjoyed reading this book and would definitely love to read more of Sheila’s work based on this.
I was intrigued by the 60s setting and I don’t really know very much about the Mods and Rockers so that intrigued me too. The story is set in the 60s right when all of the fighting between the two groups of music/fashion followers happened. The story follows Cathy as she relives her childhood in the 60s for an article that she’s writing 40 years later.
The story starts off with a little introduction to the 2004 life of Cathy and gives a little insight into her current life. Then you are transported back to 1963 where the story really started. Most of the story is told in the 60s with Cathy narrating as she relives her past. I really felt like I was truly living that period in her life with her.
"I pushed it all to the back of my mind. But now - now I've started thinking about it again, the memories are so vivid. It's like...yesterday"
I loved the difference between then and now and how Sheila’s writing facilitated that. Teenage Cathy is easy to relate to for everyone. We’ve all been a teenager at some point and the issues she’s facing in the 60s are the same as a modern day teenager would face only the “in thing” has changed! Cathy’s teenage relationship with Jimmy and all of the ups and downs that came with that allow you to empathise with her as well, really allowing you to invest yourself in the story.
I really didn’t feel like I could guess the ending of this story. The murder of a young Mod is pivotal to Cathy’s entire story. The impact that that had on her life and the fallout from it caused her quite a lot of hardship, which is sometimes quite sad to read about but there are elements of the story, her friendship with Linda and the turnaround in her mother’s attitude that make up for the sad parts.
The 60s are often referred to as the decade of change and that theme is present throughout the relived scenes as Cathy’s journey progresses. The characters and storyline have been well thought out to bring this decade back to life again.
I loved that even 40 years on the impact that that time in her life had on the path that her life took was as profound as it was. The murder becomes important again for Cathy later on in life as she starts to look into the mystery behind it which was a bit of a guessing game as a reader trying to figure out who was behind it.
I really enjoyed reading this book and would definitely love to read more of Sheila’s work based on this.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews