Tento britský autor proslul svými scénáři pro rozhlasové a televizní hry, zejména pro BBC. Jeho tvorba často čerpala z nostalgie, zasazená do prostředí Londýna, a inspirovaná úspěchem jeho autobiografické rozhlasové hry. Kromě adaptací literárních děl se věnoval psaní originálních románů, které reflektovaly jeho osobní vzpomínky a zážitky. Jeho dílo se vyznačuje hlubokým ponorem do minulosti a atmosférou starého Londýna.
When Letty Edginton becomes a munitionette in the Royal Woolwich Arsenal her life changes forever. She finds herself part of a world where girls wear makeup and boys whistle. In the midst of this she meets Ollie, beginning a journey of love and hardship.
1944, north London. Fifteen-year-old Frankie Lewis feels as if the war will go on forever. But one night in the blackout, his life takes an extraordinary turn. Whilst playing a vindictive prank on the German-Jewish widow who lives nearby, Frankie finds himself hauled across her doorstep into a world of books and culture. Fascinated by Elsa's stories of life before the war and her late husband - a British officer - young Frankie becomes good friends with Elsa, helping her out in her shop and confiding his troubles to her - from his crush to his sister's unwanted pregnancy. So, when Elsa suddenly dies of a heart attack, Frankie is devastated. He is almost as shocked to discover that Elsa has left her shop to him - a legacy that her brother-in-law is determined to deny him...
Sarah and Beattie Melford have never understood each other. Beattie, raucous and fun-loving, sees her sister Sarah's quiet reserve as snobbery, and Sarah cannot understand why Beattie appears to upset their parents' comfortable Islington household at every opportunity. When Sarah discovers her younger sister's spiteful affair with the naval officer she'd hoped to marry, she is devastated, whilst the defiant Beattie's reputation lies in tatters. As London recovers from the trauma of the Great War the girls are forced into very different lives. But, through the child they both love, it seems there might be a chance that the tragedy that drove them apart might one day compel their paths to cross again...
It's 1939 when Hannah and Louie Adams wave goodbye to their mother and home in Holloway, leaving for the safety of the Hertfordshire countryside. The girls try to settle in with their new foster-parents, but the Bullocks are stern people, and when they send the homesick Louie to another family, the Beedles, Hannah is devastated. She decides there's only one way out - she must walk back to Blitz-torn Islington. Thirty-six hours later, a cold, weary and frightened girl arrives home to a shocking sight...
Lizzie Angel has an indomitable spirit and, being the eldest of five, she needs it. With the end of the the Second World War, Lizzie and her family expect the hard times to end, but during the harsh winter of 1947, life seems harder than ever. With Lizzie's father hell bent on emigrating to Australia, Lizzie must decide between family loyalty and the love of her life, Rob Thompson. But Rob, damaged by his experiences during the war, seems unable to return Lizzie's love, and she begins to wonder whether they'll ever have a future together.