The Woolworths Girls (46 page)

Authors: Elaine Everest

BOOK: The Woolworths Girls

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Four well-remembered songs from the past that seem to appear on old-time music-hall shows. Our Woolies girls would have sung these on many occasions around a piano at home, at the pub and family parties.

‘I’ll See You In My Dreams’

(
ISHAM JONES
and
GUS KAHN
, 1924)

I just knew that when Maisie headed to the Prince of Wales pub, mourning the loss of her soldier husband, Joe, in 1940, that standing by the piano, the music would have made her melancholy. This is one of the scenes in
The Woolworths Girls
that made me cry as I wrote it. I knew Maisie so well by this time that I felt her pain and her loss. The lyrics would have cut to the quick as she fell to her knees and sobbed. For a real treat, listen to the version of this song performed by Joe Brown for the concert in memory of George Harrison.

‘I Found a Million-Dollar Baby
(In a Five-and-Ten-Cent Store)’

(
HARRY WARREN
,
MORT DIXON
and
BILLY ROSE
, 1931)

This song was first sung by Fanny Brice in the Broadway musical
Billy Rose’s Crazy Quilt.
The five-and-ten-cent store is the American name for F. W. Woolworth. What could be more fitting to be sung by Maureen for Maisie when she married her David? ‘
I found a million-dollar baby in a five-and-ten-cent store . . .
’

‘Goodnight, Sweetheart’

RAY NOBLE
,
JIMMY CAMPBELL
and
REG CONNOLLY
, 1931)

Such a romantic song and for me, it was the perfect song for Alan and Sarah to dance to at the Woolworths Christmas party in 1938. Their romance was just starting and Sarah wasn’t sure if Alan cared for her as much as she cared for him. This song was pivotal to their romance and furthermore brought them back together in the final scene of
The Woolworths Girls
.

Reading Group Questions

1) Why did you decide to read
The Woolworths Girls
, and what appealed to you most about the cover and packaging?

2) Who was your favourite character in
The Woolworths Girls
?

3) Did you like the setting of
The Woolworths Girls
?

4) Discuss the author’s writing style.

5) What did you enjoy most about
The Woolworths Girls
?

6) How did the ending of the book make you feel?

7) Have you read any comparable books to
The Woolworths Girls
?

8) What are your own memories of Woolworths?

9) If you could ask the author one question about the novel, what would it be?

10) Would you read the author’s next novel,
The Butlins Girls
?

Elaine Everest was born and brought up in North West Kent, where
The Woolworths Girls
is set, and was once a Woolworths girl herself.

Elaine has written widely for women’s magazines, penning both short stories and features before turning her hand to writing novels. When she isn’t writing, Elaine runs The Write Place creative writing school in Dartford, Kent, and the blog for the Romantic Novelists’ Association.

Elaine lives with her husband, Michael, and their Polish Lowland Sheepdog, Henry, in Swanley, Kent.

You can say hello to Elaine on Twitter @ElaineEverest or Facebook www.facebook.com/elaine.everest

First published 2016 by Pan Books

This electronic edition published 2016 by Pan Books
an imprint of Pan Macmillan
20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR
Associated companies throughout the world
www.panmacmillan.com

ISBN 978-1-4472-9549-5

Design ©
www.blacksheep-uk.com
Models © Colin Thomas
Woolworths shop ©
woolworthsmuseum.co.uk

The right of Elaine Everest to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Pan Macmillan does not have any control over, or any responsibility for, any author or third-party websites referred to in or on this book.

You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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