Kru seamen? How do they end up playing such a part in The House on Hunter Street? Liverpool's 1911 Conflicts The year1911 in Liverpool is probably best known for its transport strikes, including a major seamen's strike as part of a national dispute. It was these strikes which caused some to believe that Liverpool was "near to revolution." But … [Read more...] about Liverpool 1911: The Kru Seamen’s Strike
Liverpool 1911
A batch of blogs about the historical background and other stuff arising from the writing of The House on Hunter Street.
Liverpool 1911: The Welsh Connection
We built this city on Rock ‘n Roll? Or maybe on solid Welsh red brick – the blood, sweat and tears of Welsh construction workers? There are many volumes dedicated to the Welsh builders responsible for so much of Liverpool’s Victorian housing and architecture. Liverpool artist Frank Green has produced an entire book of his paintings depicting the … [Read more...] about Liverpool 1911: The Welsh Connection
1911 and the Liverpool Suffrage Campaigners
In The House on Hunter Street, the novel’s main protagonist, Cari Maddox, describes the state of the campaign for women’s votes in 1911 like this: So many suffrage societies in Liverpool now, she couldn’t count them anymore. Forty different groups? Fifty? And most of them wouldn’t have spat on the others if they’d seen them on fire. Fine, … [Read more...] about 1911 and the Liverpool Suffrage Campaigners
Hunter Street – the Historical Background
Hunter Street is now no more than a busy dual carriageway, running behind Liverpool’s Walker Art Gallery and the Museum. The road connects the bottom of Islington with the end of Byrom Street. It carries an endless stream of vehicles heading in one direction, upwards, for the city’s eastern suburbs. To the M62 motorway, the cathedrals and South … [Read more...] about Hunter Street – the Historical Background