Once Upon A Time In England

Walsh . . . is a lively, keen-eyed guide to Warrington and the north west. The subject matter is harrowing but, as with Brass, Walsh's writing has a wonderful, propulsive exuberance. -- Tim Teeman * * The Times * *
The kind of book whose events you find yourself repeating to friends. * * Daily Telegraph * *
The novel's greatest poignancy rests not in the parents but in the children whom they damage . . . unlinchingly shows human beings consumed by a damage and hurt that turns them into the very monsters they had hoped to slay. -- Anita Sethi * * Independent On Sunday * *
An angry impassioned family tragedy about the way racism and intolerance crush spirits and destroy lives. In the Fitzgeralds, Walsh has created memorable characters, painting them and their lives with broad brushstrokes. She employs a gritty humour with skill, negating any sentiment but never detracting from the mounting sense of tragedy. Every heartfelt sentence is permeated with a raging humanity, while the end of the book is shocking, painful and unforgettably moving. -- Tina Jackson * * Metro * *
A graphic snapshot of a northern family's daily life . . . You'll develop such an affinity for brooding, talented Robbie Fitzgerald and his Tamil princess wife Susheela that you'll be willing them to escape their ultimately doomed life. Utterly gripping. * * She * *
Once Upon a Time in England will be one of the 20 best novels published this year. It is a very good novel and it deserves to be read. * * New Statesman * *
Walsh is a fluent storyteller. -- Alyssa McDonald * * Guardian * *
Helen Walsh is the real thing; a serious writer to watch. Once Upon a Time in England is an impressive second book. She just keeps on getting better. * * M.J. Hyland * *
Walsh writes with conviction . . . [she] won the Betty Trask award for her first novel, Brass, and this is an unflinching follow-up. -- Lucy Atkins * * Sunday Times * *
There is glam as well as grit . . . Walsh has tapped the vein of teenage diarism that is instantly recognisable: messy, raw, passionately empathetic. -- Stephanie Cross * * Daily Telegraph * *
Violence is a theme that runs through this novel; the ugliness, brutality and racism of the period are painfully well-realised . . . The ending isn't happy, but is profoundly moving and artistically satisfying. This novel demonstrates the magic trick that the best fiction pulls off: to make you care deeply about people who don't exist. -- Brandon Robshaw * * Independent on Sunday * *