Kate's Story

De: Billy Hopkins

Narrado por: Christopher Kay

It's June 1897, and Kate is celebrating her 11th birthday on the day of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. Kate's joy is short-lived, as tragedy strikes, threatening her family with the loss of all they hold dear. Before long they are evicted from their home in Ancoats, Manchester, and with no wages coming in and a mother unable to cope, Kate has to grow up fast. Her deepest desire is to keep her brothers and sisters together.

A journey of hope and heartache takes Kate from the hardships of the workhouse to the dubious comforts of a position in service to the rich; from the joys of marriage to a good man, to the sorrows and losses suffered during the Great War.

©2001 Wilfred Hopkins (P)2002 Soundings

Kate's Story

OK. Enjoyable but not unforgettable. Some very 'Dickensian' pictures but with a Womans' Weekly feel rather than tight, considered writing. The main character Kate was filled out well, but occasionally broke off to 'inform' the reader. I would prefer the information to have been inserted more smoothly. I found it a bit of a wander through time and I would have preferred a faster pace with some editing when the story meandered. The reader for Kate was a man! Why do this? A first person story read by the wrong sex! I found the accent a little worrying at times. His Oxford English moments were much more solid than his 'northern' voices.