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A Disappointing Child: A memoir
Born into poverty and a dysfunctional family, can her dreams survive?As a child, Hilda Spear longed to be a dancer and a writer, but her mentally unstable mother kept her confined to an upstairs room. When she was allowed to attend school, she won a prestigious scholarship and dreamed of a better life, until a damning secret forced her family to flee to the other side of the world.
A Disappointing Child is an extraordinary memoir by Diana Hardie (born Hilda Spear) which captures life in the East End of London in the 1920s, the experiences of immigrants arriving in Australia during the Great Depression, and the reality of working in Fleet Street during the Blitz of London. Filled with unforgettable characters, it is a testament to hope, love and family.
Buy this book today to discover a remarkable true story.
A Disappointing Child is an extraordinary memoir by Diana Hardie (born Hilda Spear) which captures life in the East End of London in the 1920s, the experiences of immigrants arriving in Australia during the Great Depression, and the reality of working in Fleet Street during the Blitz of London. Filled with unforgettable characters, it is a testament to hope, love and family.
Buy this book today to discover a remarkable true story.
442 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 7, 2022
12 people are currently reading
3 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 22, 2026
Instagram - @comewalkinmybooks
📚 book review 📚
A Disappointing Child by Diana Hardie
Goodreads rating - 4.68/5 ⭐️
My personal rating - 5/5 ⭐️
This is my first book by Diana Hardie. This is also my first 5⭐️ book since June 😍 I’m very particular what I give 5 ⭐️ too and this is definitely worth it ❤️
In this book we follow the life of Hilda / Diana. A girl who comes from a very poor background and from a very young age has to try and understand the world from her window. She lives at home with her mother, father, younger brother, her grandparents, 3 aunties and her uncles. Her family has no money and in order to survive they find odd jobs here and there. Her mother doesn’t let her interact with the other kids because she worries about illness and bad influences and she doesn’t have any friends or even go to a playground until the age of around 7.
We then go through what life was like during the war and how she and her family survived the blitz.
We find out about her career opportunities.
We learn how she and her family dealt with her mother’s mental illness back when it was very taboo and would be largely untreated.
Then we travel the world with them as they journey off to Australia to hopefully start a new life.
We also get insight into how she met her husband of over 50 years and their unlikely romance that stretches across the globe.
The story is set between both Australia and England through many decades of back and forth.
Would I recommend this book - absolutely
This book I can not recommend enough. The struggle, the trials she went through in life and yet she always saw the positive in every situation. We could learn a lot from her and her generation through speaking with them and reading about them !
Would i read this author again - Her daughter has written a 3 book series about her life which I will definitely be reading !
Please please please pick up this book. You will not regret it and I just cannot stress how good it is 😭
This is my personal opinion !
📚 book review 📚
A Disappointing Child by Diana Hardie
Goodreads rating - 4.68/5 ⭐️
My personal rating - 5/5 ⭐️
This is my first book by Diana Hardie. This is also my first 5⭐️ book since June 😍 I’m very particular what I give 5 ⭐️ too and this is definitely worth it ❤️
In this book we follow the life of Hilda / Diana. A girl who comes from a very poor background and from a very young age has to try and understand the world from her window. She lives at home with her mother, father, younger brother, her grandparents, 3 aunties and her uncles. Her family has no money and in order to survive they find odd jobs here and there. Her mother doesn’t let her interact with the other kids because she worries about illness and bad influences and she doesn’t have any friends or even go to a playground until the age of around 7.
We then go through what life was like during the war and how she and her family survived the blitz.
We find out about her career opportunities.
We learn how she and her family dealt with her mother’s mental illness back when it was very taboo and would be largely untreated.
Then we travel the world with them as they journey off to Australia to hopefully start a new life.
We also get insight into how she met her husband of over 50 years and their unlikely romance that stretches across the globe.
The story is set between both Australia and England through many decades of back and forth.
Would I recommend this book - absolutely
This book I can not recommend enough. The struggle, the trials she went through in life and yet she always saw the positive in every situation. We could learn a lot from her and her generation through speaking with them and reading about them !
Would i read this author again - Her daughter has written a 3 book series about her life which I will definitely be reading !
Please please please pick up this book. You will not regret it and I just cannot stress how good it is 😭
This is my personal opinion !
April 19, 2026
I couldn’t stop reading this. A fascinating read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews