Swings and Roundabouts

EastEnders #2

by Hugh Miller

The Swinging Sixties are on their way, but the important things of life stay the same in Albert Square. In spite of his father's urgings, Dr. Legg is still the local GP, and Alf Barrett is still behind the bar at the Queen Victoria.

But for the Beale family it is a time of change. Young Pete Beale insists on marrying Pat Harris - much to his family's disappointment. And much to the disappointment of Kathy Hills, whose youthful dreams seem shattered.

Swings and Roundabouts continues the human story of the families who live around Albert Square. It is a story not only of mistakes and setbacks, but also of people learning the hard lessons of life and - sometimes - coming out on top in the end.

160 pages, Paperback

First published November 21, 1985

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Lora · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a prequel to the British soap opera, Eastenders. Obviously, you wouldn't get much out of the book if you'd never watched Eastenders and gotten to know these characters. But I very much enjoyed reading about how Den and Angie, Pete and Kathy, and Pauline and Arthur met. I also enjoyed learning a bit more about Dr. Legg, Lou Beale (and her other kids), Ethel Skinner and even Reg Cox.

The book was funny and heartwarming and had a great happy ending which gave me the chills (in a good way).

[Rob Cook · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

The stories of some of the early Eastenders favourites are told in this second book in the series, this time set in the Sixties. This novel tells of the early days of Pauline and Arthur, Pete and Kathy (after Pete and Pat!) and Den and Angie. It also continues the story of Dr. Legg from the first book.

It's a near Five Star read, at only 160 pages it covers around four years and I felt that the stories had enough in them to flesh out into further books.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting back story on original EastEnders families. Sort of hard to believe that Lou Beale had so many other kids (aside from Pete and Pauline), and that they never really show up in the stories shown on screen. Also, Pat gets a bad rap in this book.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

Second in the series of novels. Whereas the first took place during World War II and its aftermath, this book focuses on Pete & Pauline Beale as young adults in the 1960s (though the characters of their mother Lou Beale, as well as Dr. Legg, continue on from the first book as well). It's fascinating to think that Pat Harris (later Butcher) first appeared in this tie-in novel, more than six months before she would first appear on-screen. As with the first book, it's both fun and breezy, and incredibly true to the characters; any early viewer would have been well rewarded to be picking these up.