Pride and Joy

by Dee Williams

For sixteen-year-old Mary Harris, growing up in Rotherhithe in 1934 has its ups and downs. She has a good job in a biscuit factory and a best friend, Liz, who's fun to be with, but she's worried about her younger brother Eddie. Eddie is a difficult child whose bad behaviour affects the whole family. Although Mary's stepfather Ted denies losing his temper with the boy, Mary's seen the bruises on Eddie's small body. She wishes her parents would take Eddie to a specialist as perhaps then they would find out what's wrong with him. Mary escapes her problems for a while when she meets Liz's handsome brother Billy, who's a sailor. And when a fortune-teller predicts romance is in the air, Mary's sure that Billy is the one for her. But the future holds some surprises for Mary, and there's heartbreak to come before she can find true love.

448 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Dee Williams grew up in Rotherhithe, East London, and left school at fourteen. After living abroad, she settled in Hampshire with her husband, where she remains active as a fundraiser for breast cancer awareness while staying close to her family.

Reviews

[Jane Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful Book

Dee Williams is an amazing author. This book had me right to the end. It’s certainly not a book that you can guess the ending like other books I’ve read.

[Nicola Louise Ankers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got drawn in to this read straight away, absolutely loved every minute of it and couldn't put it down specially towards the end, during the read there were moments of absolute sadness and devastation for the Family's within the read.
It is my 1st time reading DEE WILLIAMS books and now I am wanting to get the full collection of the books, they R worded beautifully and drag you in straight away. I'd Definitley Recommend Everyone To Do the same and read her books, this read is dated back to the 1800s and I haven't read anything like this one before. Which Made it more enjoyable with in my collection of reading

[Honeybee · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent novel about the working class folks in 1932 in and around London. A great tale of a young girls hope and dreams. I loved it so much that I hit ebay to buy up close to everything she wrote. I love that it's not just a romance. It discusses family dynamics and how we work through our issues. Highly recommend!

[chris Lock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sun and tears

A really good read with a few twists. All works out in the end and happiness is complete for all

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could not put this book down, didn't want it to end.

[Mrs L A Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

Absolutely loved this book. I do like Dee's writing. Sometimes though I feel I want to carry on the story into another book.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It starts in 1934 in London, and the main character is Mary Harris. Mary lives with her mother, Sarah, her stepfather Ted, and her 4 year old half brother, Eddie who isn't like other children his age. The story begins slowly and I can't say that I was gripped but I did want to find out more, especially about little Eddie. Then as the story developed the book changed for me from a pleasant read to a brilliant story that was hard to put down. It has plenty of mystery, and also family troubles, good friendships and a bit of romance, what more could you want?