Lincs writer goes back to roots for new book
Added: (Fri Oct 23 2020)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
A retired History teacher from Lincolnshire has returned to the working-class streets of 1960s Manchester to pay homage to his late wife.
Nick Udall tragically lost Doreen back in 2012.
The 61-year-old began writing his first novel, Against the Odds, just two years later in her memory.
Nick has yet again based his third novel, A Time for Change?, in Doreen’s home district of Ardwick.
And he has also once again used the love of his life as inspiration for his latest central character, Connie.
The father of five explained: “Doreen gave me direction and true meaning in my life.
“She had an exceptionally difficult childhood growing up in Ardwick.
“I used her experiences to write my first novel, Against the Odds.
“Abandoned by her parents from the age of 11, she was denied the chance to take up a place at Central Girls Grammar School, after passing the eleven plus.
“I started to think about how Doreen’s life could have been different if she had been allowed to take that opportunity.
“Therefore, the character of Connie was created - a strong woman in a man’s world, but nevertheless all too vulnerable when it came to finding love and with a sense of guilt borne out of her personal success and consequent desire to stay in Ardwick and fight for the rights of her community.”
A Time for Change? is an authoritative exploration of a working-class community being subjected to transformation against its will.
Nick’s central character, Connie, also defies gender stereotypes of the time by facing up to the male-dominated authorities.
While A Time for Change? is a meticulously researched slice of social history, it is also a convincing and beautifully told love story.
Nick added: “Much of the fabric of the city that existed then has been lost and I wanted to recreate it as accurately as possible in the pages of the book, especially as I felt I was telling Manchester’s story as well as Connie’s.
“I wanted to reflect the changes taking place in society during this period of history - the forces of modernity that were challenging the values of the working-class communities in Ardwick and elsewhere.
“Through Connie, though, the need to find true love and with it, personal fulfilment, was the most important message of the book.
“Connie finally realises this at the conclusion of the novel.”
As well as History, Nick taught Classical Civilisation and Politics during a distinguished career that took him from his native Sheffield to Liverpool, Manchester and finally Lincolnshire.
Prior to writing his three novels, the lifelong Blades fan wrote two books about his beloved Sheffield United, Champions and Sheffield United: Thirty Great Games of the 1970s.
He has also been a regular contributor to the Bramall Lane matchday programme over the past two decades.
For more details, visit Amazon and search for Nick Udall, where the paperback and Kindle formats of A Time for Change? are both available.
Notes to the editor
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