The Corner Shop

A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK 'Nuanced, human and engaging' Nikesh Shukla, Observer 'Full of life, characters, gossip and all the richness of the local community' Sir David Jason 'A delightful story of growing up "above the shop"' Nigel Slater, Observer 'Cleverly links her own memories of shop-bound life with the last 50 years of British history' Spectator 'I come from a hidden world: I am the daughter of shopkeepers. I've seen you on a Sunday morning, nipping out to get a pint of milk or to grab a newspaper. I came to know a lot about you; whether your politics leaned to the right or left, whether you were gay or straight, and whether you were plagued by cash-flow problems or had enough disposable income to indulge your penchant for Cadbury's Creme Eggs.' Babita Sharma was raised in a corner shop in Reading, and over the counter watched a changing world, from the clientele to the products to the politics of the day. Along with the skills to mop a floor perfectly and stack a shelf, she gained a unique insight into a shifting landscape - and an institution that, despite the creep of supermarkets, online shopping and delivery, has found a way to evolve and survive - and is now once again keeping us all going. From the general stores of the first half of the 20th century (one of which was run by the father of a certain Margaret Thatcher), to the reimagined corner shops run by immigrants from India, East Africa and Eastern Europe from the 60s to the noughties, the corner shop has shaped the way we shop, the way we eat, and the way we understand ourselves. WINNER OF THE BUSINESS BOOK AWARD FOR AN EXCEPTIONAL BOOK THAT PROMOTES DIVERSITY 'A triumph' Radio Times 'A compelling, full selection box of a story' Sanjeev Kohli 'One of the best books I've read on the immigrant experience in this country' Daily Mail 'I loved it cover to cover' Angela Clutton, author of The Vinegar Cupboard

A lively diary chronicling the ups and downs of running a grocery shop in a Yorkshire town during the rationing years of the Second World War Kathleen Hey spent the war years helping her sister and brother-in-law run a grocery shop in the Yorkshire town of Dewsbury. From July 1941 to July 1946 she kept a diary for the Mass-Observation project, recording the thoughts and concerns of the people who used the shop. What makes Kathleen's account such a vivid and compelling read is the immediacy of her writing. People were pulling together on the surface ('Bert has painted the V-sign on the shop door…', she writes) but there are plenty of tensions underneath. The shortage of food and the extreme difficulty of obtaining it is a constant thread, which dominates conversation in the town, more so even than the danger of bombardment and the war itself. Sometimes events take a comic turn. A lack of onions provokes outrage among her customers, and Kathleen writes, 'I believe they think we have secret onion orgies at night and use them all up.' The Brooke Bond tea rep complains that tea need not be rationed at all if supply ships were not filled with 'useless goods' such as Corn Flakes, and there is a long-running saga about the non-arrival of Smedley's peas. Among the chorus of voices she brings us, Kathleen herself shines through as a strong and engaging woman who refuses to give in to doubts or misery and who maintains her keen sense of humour even under the most trying conditions. A vibrant addition to our records of the Second World War, the power of her diary lies in its juxtaposition of the everyday and the extraordinary, the homely and the universal, small town life and the wartime upheavals of a nation.

Can a new shop change the village’s future – and Rowena’s? Single mum Rowena is always looking for ways for her and Nia, her four-year-old daughter, to live more sustainably. So when she visits a zero-waste shop in Cardiff, she’s inspired to start one up in her home village of Foxmore, where local businesses and artisan shops are a core part of the community. For Huw, it’s love at first sight when he bumps into Rowena the day he moves to Foxmore. But a series of misunderstandings keeps the two from getting closer, and now a conflict of interest over Rowena’s shop might put a stop to any fledgling romance... When a figure from Rowena’s past makes a surprise appearance, both her shop and her relationship with Huw are suddenly under threat. Can Rowena still realise her corner shop dreams and find love? A gorgeously fun and feel-good cosy romance, perfect for fans of Sue Moorcroft, Holly Martin and Suzanne Snow. Praise for The Corner Shop on Foxmore Green ‘What a great book about friendship, second chances and the importance of learning to trust again. Fully deserving of five stars, I loved it and am still thinking of the characters.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review ‘Loved the storyline and the setting of Foxmore was so descriptive it felt like you were there. This author never fails to deliver.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review ‘What a fabulous delightful read, I really enjoy and look forward to a new book from Lilac Mills.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review ‘I read this in one sitting as it was such a beautiful cosy escapist romantic read. I loved the setting and the characters... so light-hearted and charming!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review ‘This book made me smile! What lovely tone of voice, interesting characters... Not to mention the descriptive setting of Foxmore making anyone yearn to go there.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review ‘Lilac Mills writes such lovely cosy romances... Another charming romance I highly recommend.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Reader review

Lucille Abbey runs her London secretarial agency with utmost efficiency. When, therefore, a certain Professor Hallam rejects three girls sent by her to apply for the post of his secretary and they each pronounce him “impossible”, Lucille herself sets out to interview the Professor at his home in Hampshire. He is, she finds, eccentric—even impossible; but he represents a challenge and, what is more, an excuse to delay what promises to be a trying holiday in Paris. She stays on to tame and to organize him—a less formidable task than she had imagined; in fact, she grows fond of him. But the atmosphere is somewhat disturbed first by the arrival of a debonair French art expert in search of paintings left to the Professor by his mother, and the next by a hysterical girl on the track of her runaway fiancé. The paintings have unaccountably disappeared; the mystery is still unsolved by the time Lucille’s work for the Professor comes to an end and she has to set off for Paris. At her aunt’s shop in the Rue des Dames, the arrival there of the indomitable art expert, the hysterical girl, the Professor, and a persistent suitor to boot, throw Lucille’s normally orderly life into complete upheaval. *Note, these titles contain the original, unabridged, text exactly as the author first wrote it. Many later editions of Elizabeth Cadell's works were heavily abridged or changed. We hope you enjoy the re-issue of these timeless books. Watch for more to come in the near future!

A heartbroken young widow joins the police force during World War Two in Manchester. Perfect for fans of Diney Costeloe and Dilly Court. WW2 Manchester. Newlyweds Helen and Jim Harrison have big plans – to leave the family shop where Helen works and set up home together. But when Jim is tragically killed in an air raid, Helen is heartbroken, her life in ruins. Battling grief and despair, Helen resolves to escape her domineering mother and rebuild her shattered world. Wartime Manchester is a dangerous place, beseiged by crime and poverty. So when Helen joins the Women's Auxiliary Police Corps, working with evacuees, the destitute and the vulnerable, she finds a renewed sense of purpose. She's come a long way from her place behind the counter in the corner shop. But there's still something missing in her heart. Is Helen able to accept love and happiness and find the courage to change her life?

Isobel Callaghan is struggling to make a career as a writer in Sydney. She is isolated, poor and hungry, and fears she's going mad. Leaving her room in a boarding house in search of food, she has a breakdown on the way to the corner shop. Waking in hospital, Isobel learns that she will be confined to a sanatorium in the Blue Mountains. There, among the motley assortment of patients, and with the aid of great works of literature, she will confront the horrors of her past. But can she find a way to face the future? Confronting and compassionate, profound and funny, the second Isobel Callaghan novel is every bit as brilliant as its much-loved predecessor. It confirmed Amy Witting as one of the finest Australian writers of her time. Amy Witting was born in Sydney in 1918. She attended Sydney University, then taught French and English in state schools. Beginning late in life she published six novels, including The Visit, I for Isobel, Isobel on the Way to the Corner Shop and Maria's War; two collections of short stories; two books of verse, Travel Diary and Beauty is the Straw; and her Collected Poems. She had numerous poems and short stories published in magazines such as Quadrant and the New Yorker. Her acclaimed short fiction is collected in the volume Faces and Voices. Witting was awarded the 1993 Patrick White Prize. Isobel on the way to the Corner Shop won the Age Book of the Year Award. Amy Witting died in 2001. 'Her reflections on human nature are eloquently drawn, intimate, compassionate and witty.' Australian Amy Witting is comparable to Jean Rhys, but she has more starch, or vinegar. The effect is bracing.' New Yorker '[Witting] lays bare with surgical precision the dynamics of families, sibling, students in coffee shops, office coteries. One sometimes feels positively winded with unsettling insights. There is something relentless, almost unnerving in her anatomising of foibles, fears obsessions, private shame, the nature of loneliness, the nature of panic.' Janette Turner Hospital 'A beautifully but unobtrusively honed style, a marvellous ear for dialogue, a generous understanding of the complex waywardness of men and women.' Andrew Riemer ‘Sparkling prose and extraordinary ability to enter the minds of a wide variety of characters.' A Reader's Guide to Australian Fiction ‘Quietly brilliant...Witting’s characterizations are staggeringly sharp—it is hard to imagine a novel more keenly observed—simultaneously heartbreaking and (subtly) hilarious, not because they’re exaggerated, but because they are so unsettlingly, overwhelmingly true...A compassionate masterpiece.’ STARRED Review, Kirkus

What will become of the shops? More than ever, the high street appears to be under mortal threat, its shops boarded up as the sad 'bricks and mortar' survivals of a pre-online retail world. But behind the bleak appearance, there is more to see. Back to the Shops offers a set of short and surprising chapters, each one a window into a different shop type or mode of selling. Old shopping streets are seen from new angles; fast fashion shows up in eighteenth-century edits. Here are pedlars and pop-ups, mail order catalogues and mobile greengrocers' shops. Here too are food markets open till late on a Saturday night, and tiny subscription libraries tucked away at the back of the sweet shop. Over time, shops have occupied radically different places in cultural arguments and in our everyday lives. They are essential sources of daily provisions, but they are also the visible evidence of consuming excess. They are local community hubs and they are dreamlands of distraction. Shops are inherently spaces of imagination as well as of practicality. They belong with their own surrounding streets and town; they bring back the times and places of our lives. They linger in stories of all kinds, whether far-fetched or round the corner. From butcher to baker and from markets to motor vans—after reading this book, you will want to go back to the shops.