Bond Street Story

by Norman Collins

"immensely readable and very lively"
J.B. PRIESTLEY

"comprehends the Londoner with a Dickensian richness"
DAILY EXPRESS

Pass through the swing doors of Rammell's into the rich, evocative sights, sounds and textures of a great department store teeming with London shoppers.

Come to know the private lives of its assistants, secretaries, model girls, buyers, managers and directors.

Some with simple desires, others with hungers they can't satisfy, ambitions they will never fulfil.

Go behind the scenes to the sum of human life: frictions in the staff hostel, jealousies at staff dances, departmental intrigues, promotions, sackings...

Beneath its dignified flag, Rammell's was the store that had everything - even a piece of everyone who worked there.

Genres: Fiction, British Literature, London

479 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

Norman Collins born 3 October 1907, died 1982, was a British writer, and later a radio and television executive, who became one of the major figures behind the establishment of the Independent Television (ITV) network in the UK. This was the first organisation to break the BBC’s broadcasting monopoly when it began transmitting in 1955.

Reviews

[Judy Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A special thank you to Bloomsbury USA and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. 3.5 stars

Bond Street, really Oxford Street, even so, it was indisputably one of the better stations. Norman Collins delivers BOND STREET STORY, a charming, nostalgic novel of post-war London set in a glamorous department store, Rammell's.

Rammell’s is famous. It has everything. A London department store. You could be clothed, fed, furnished, kept amused, and ultimately buried entirely by Rammell’s. Provided you are in the right income bracket.

Irene Privet, was only seventeen. Still living in the full turmoil of adolescence. Life opened out in front of her down a long corridor of chaos and confusion. She longs for the bright lights of stage.

Readers meet a variety of eccentric characters from Rammell’s—each with their connections, loves, hopes and dreams. From young to old and those in between.

The family From the owners, retired Sir Harry, and his son Eric with his digestive problems, his wife and son Tony -- to the newest salesgirl Irene, daughter of one of the shop-walkers Mr. Privett. Mr. Bloot, the senior shop-walker falls in love and marries. Tony has a fling with the model Marcia and Eric, in straightening this out, assumes Marcia as his responsibility until she pulls a mink bomb -- and it is Sir Harry who, at the end, takes Marcia off everyone's hands.

From life in the fifties— glamour, gossip, romance, intrigue with a cast of charming, and memorable characters. A look at post-war London when life was bustling –from shop girls, typist, cashiers and secretaries who running the show.

Broken down in sections with short chapters:
Book One: Reluctance of a Female Apprentice
Book Two: Love and the Shopwalker
Book Three: private Affairs of a Leading Model
Book four Case of the Missing Budgies
Book Five: Bond Street in Retrospect

A timeless classic lighthearted fictional account, reminding us of the days when at one time or other in our younger years, there was always a job at an upscale department store (which we now call a boutique)--always those in charge. You can feel the buzz and nostalgia—Collins brings the characters to life in a simpler time.

Love the glamorous new cover!

JDCMustReadBooks

[Esdaile · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think that this is one of those books which wil only come to life as a film (has it in fact, been filmed?) and in fact the entire novel gives the impression of having been written with that end in mind. I picked it up second hand years ago and read it with pleasure (the opening scene as I recall is graphic and well composed). Subsequently the book fell apart having been stored in a dampish cellar; I was reminded of it just as I was throwing the bits away. I cannot remember details of the plot, although I found the story thoroughly readable at the time. This is a good example of what the French call "roman de gare", meaning a novel which one might buy at a train station instead of a newspaper which will help one pass the time, especially if one's train is delayed by hours. However, I cannot imagine anyone wanting to read it a second time, so I am surprised by the number of people who gave it 4/5 stars. Unfortunately, they did not offer a review in Goodreads to tell us why they think it is so good or why they liked it very much.

Speaking generally, I wish that anyone giving as high as 5 or as low as 1 star in Goodreads would give at least a short review to justify such a high/low award.

[Teaspoon Stories · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still remember fondly our local, posh department stores - Joshua Taylor, Eaden Lilley on Market Street, and Robert Sayle (which sounded like Robert’s Sale to those not familiar with the name). In fact, as a student I worked over Christmas and summer vacations at Robert Sayle (then a labyrinth of old, terraced shops, interconnected by secret staircases and passages, now a soulless, new John Lewis).

So I’ve always had a soft spot for novels involving the retail trade (I’m thinking in particular of Zola’s “The Ladies’ Paradise” and Dorothy Whipple’s “High Wages”).

I enjoy reading “shop talk” (quite literally) which reminds me of my own experiences as a temporary sales assistant - the aches from having to stand all day, the tedium of stocktaking, the strain of looking busy whenever management from the top floor passed by.

But also the sociability of the staff canteen, the camaraderie of slipping “out back” for stock (and a gossip), and the universal sense of beleaguered sales assistants everywhere against an over-demanding and unreasonable buying public.

Norman Collins describes all this with an attractive freshness and attention to detail. His fictional Rammell’s Department Store seemed so familiar to me, I felt as if I was actually clocking on myself, making my way up to the staff cloakrooms and stepping out onto the showroom like an actor on stage.

I also greatly enjoy complex family novels (Arnold Bennett’s “Clayhanger” and Phylis Bentley’s “Inheritance” being particular favourites) and the way Norman Collins structures “Bond Street Story” around the departments, functions and management hierarchies at a large store very much made me think of the inter-generational web of sprawling family fiction.

Norman Collins was apparently a tv producer as well as a novelist and I think this comes across in his “Bond Street Story”. I could very much imagine the novel as a tv series with its multiple plot lines and lively characters. The novel’s episodic structure - its short chapters and multi-perspective narrative - perhaps has the feel of a screenplay with its sharp editing and abrupt scene changes, the close-ups and wide-focus panoramas.

I noticed that one of the reviewers describes Norman Collins’ style as slightly condescending which made me muse for a bit. I tend to agree that he seems quite cool towards his characters - his style is more observational than psychological. I think on balance, though, rather than condescending, I’d describe his tone as one of slightly amused irony with a strong tendency towards the aphoristic.

So I’ll end with just a few of his turns of phrase that particularly pleased me, selected entirely randomly:

“Dishonesty is one of the commonest by-products of compassion. The cells of prisons are full of sentimentalists.” (Of Miss Sulgrave who dishonestly marks down the price of a Rammell’s ball gown as a special favour for Irene Privett.)

“It was like dancing with a large hot-water bottle.” (Of Marcia struggling with her ungainly Mr Bulping.)

“The table itself was of an extra-ordinary near-oval shape that was scarcely a shape at all. Mr Rammell had an uneasy feeling that it was still forming.” (Of Mr Rammell’s discomfort in Marcia’s ultra-modern flat.)

“If he had been on a tour of a mad museum he could not have felt more bewildered.” (Of Mr Privett’s visit to Brighton in search of Mr Bloot.)

“He had the air of a man who dislikes being caught unawares with a mop and bucket.” (Of the porter at the Register Office where Mr Bloot and Hetty get hitched.)

[Louise Culmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly enjoyable saga about the staff of a large London department store. Written in a jovial and slightly condescending fashion, it describes the lives of several members of staff who work at various levels, including some who have been there for years, like floorwalker Mr Privett, and the reluctant Irene, his daughter,who is just starting out as a junior. Some characters who seem important at the start, like Irene, fade out as the story progresses. The most amusing character,Sir Harry, the owner of the store, doesn’t appear enough. The least amusing character, the tiresome Mr Bloot, appears too much. The author obviously finds it amusing to spell out words exactly as the characters speak them, with ‘Ay’ for ‘I’ etc,which becomes a bit tiresome after a while. Although moderately entertaining, not enough of interest really happens, but it passes the time pleasantly enough.

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book, written by a truly excellent author. His writing style reminds me so much of Richard Yates. Only the second book I have read by Norman Collins--the other being, London belongs to me, excellent also.

[J.F. Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as good as 'London Belongs to Me' but still engrossing - read it in three days.

[Mark Bowden · Rating 4 out of 5]

The trivialities of the English middle classes skewered through the medium of a West End department store, but skewered rather genially and amusingly, because I think Collins is fond of his characters (or most of them). The whole range of middle class life is represented, from Sir Harry and the awful Mr Bulping at the top to Mr and Mrs Gurney, ever ready to take offence and yet ever ready to forgive, at the bottom.
Collins' style is bold and assertive, his similes and metaphors delivered with force and considerable humour. Mr Bulping's provincialism is likened to '"Handel's Messiah" sung lustily and bashed into subjection in some huge local corn exchange' (66).
This is a past world. At the very end (446-7) Mr Bloot suggests that department stores will last forever and go from strength to strength. Whether this was Collins' own view I don't know but twenty years after this novel was published a new regime arrived, one that would encourage the worst in the middle classes, their self-centredness and greed, and which would ultimately lead to the decline of this form of retail commercialism as well as other branches of British industry. So this novel became a historic document as well as an extremely readable story.

[Simone Keijzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved to get sucked into this world although it was a little before my time (I was born in 61)-it is more of my sisters´ era- it did match my childhood memories and the buisness was much like "de Bijenkorf" in Amsterdam, where one of my sisters worked when she was 16 and the stories she told about it every day after work!
I am not sure if the fift book (retrospect) was necessary, I sort of would have imagined that anyway in my head. It felt like a bore, to be honest.

[Daren Kearl · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a long time to get through this book. It’s essentially a 1940s soap set in a department store.
It didn’t have anything profound to say or have much happening but the characters were well drawn and you became interested in their lives.

[Shahnaz Fraser · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely, gentle story. Written in the 1950s when the department store was a place of glamour and tradition. Much of the characters’ stories are relevant today.

[William Shepherd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly entertaining.

[Gareth Evans · Rating 2 out of 5]

Collins is probably best known for the excellent 'London Belongs to me'. In the 'Bond Street Story' he attempts the same trick, setting a muli-character novel in London, but moving the common setting from a boarding house to a department store. 'Bond Street Story' is much less successful. Whilst it has some excellent characters (e.g. Mr Privett and Mr Bloot), not all engage sympathy or warrant attention (e.g. Marcia). Thus some of the storylines work and others don't. The late 1950s setting is fine, but perhaps like the times, it is a little too saccharine. Enjoyable enough, but not really worth hunting out if inspired by 'London Belongs to me'.

[Eileen Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lighthearted fictional story of the people who work in a department store - Rammells - on Bond St., during the fifties.
Very evocative of the time it is set in.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Bloomsbury Publishing via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.

[Rhonda Lomazow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful read gorgeous cover nostalgia at its best,A London department store the people who work there models sales help executives.Romances sadness a look back at life in those times

[Christine Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gossipy romp!

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

7/10 a gossipy read, which as stated on the cover is Dickensian. However, it was perhaps, overlong.

[Ayreon · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5