Novel inspired by Windrush Generation to be celebrated at Harborough book shop

A Harborough bookshop will host an event celebrating a book inspired by the Windrush Generation.

Quinn’s Bookshop is hosting the event on Tuesday (October 18) from 6pm at EcoVillage.

It is to celebrate Northamptonshire-based author Sarah Lee, who has written debut novel An Ocean Apart inspired by true stories of women who came to the UK with the Windrush generation.

Sarah said: “My mum, alongside a number of other women I grew up around, was the inspiration for my Windrush Generation novel. My mum, Margery, came to England from Barbados in 1960, for what she describes as a ‘big adventure’. Always a good student, she was keen to learn about nursing, but she says she had a 20-year-old’s blind confidence and enthusiasm for this new world she was launching herself into.

“Though fiction, my mum's story and those of other women I interviewed informed the book. Mum worked in paediatrics, maternity, ophthalmology and more, during her 48-year nursing career. I'm so proud of all that she contributed to our NHS and thrilled to have been able to share something of her experience with the world.”

Quinn’s Bookshop owner Danielle Reid said: “It’s the story of two sisters who come to England from Barbados in the 50s to become nurses for the newly founded NHS and is inspired by true stories of women who came to the UK with the Windrush Generation. I’ve read it and it’s a heart-warming, tenderly written, compassionate story which I’d highly recommend.”

Tickets to the event – which includes talk, reading, Q&A session and refreshments – cost £2 each.

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