Hannah of Hope Street: A gripping saga of youthful hope and family ties

Description

Hannah Miller is a young girl who has had to grow up fast. Since the death of her parents she has taken responsibility for her sister Alice, determined to provide her with the love and stability they've both been denied. But when a violent incident with their bullying guardian finds the girls cold and hungry on the teeming streets of East London, Hannah realises she is out of her depth. She has little option but to accept the help of the strange old woman Maudie whose ramshackle home at the end of Rotherhithe's bustling Hope Street, Hannah soon realises, is a den of young thieves. Alice loves their new life, the companionship of the lively household and the gruff affection of the enigmatice, warm-hearted Maudie. But despite the fact that she is growing increasingly fond of Jack, one of the most long-standing of Maudie's brood, Hannah can never be happy living outside the law. As she battles for respectability, Hannah begins to see she is creating an ever-widening rift between herself and those she loves most dearly - one of whom, as the Great War approaches, might be taken from her for good ...

Dee Williams was born and brought up in Rotherhithe in East London where her father worked as a stevedore in Surrey Docks. Dee left school at fourteen, met her husband at sixteen and was married at twenty. After living abroad for some years, Dee and her husband moved to Hampshire, close to the rest of her family.