Kate Thompson talks about her new book “The Allotment Girls”, plus money-off voucher.

Over the months ahead, we’ll be looking at new releases by some of our favourite authors. This month, author Elaine Everest interviews Kate Thompson about her book “The Allotment Girls” . . .

QYou have chosen memorable historical events for your novels. What comes first – the story idea or the setting?

AThat would have to be the setting. The East End has such a rich history. When I stumbled upon a gem, like the iconic Bryant & May match factory in Bow, I knew I had to set a book there. Then I discovered the Bethnal Green Bombed Sites Producers’ Association, which during the war saw two hundred women and children from the borough transform bomb sites into thriving allotments, using elbow grease and pierced dustbin lids to sift out shrapnel. I had the beginnings of my story and “The Allotment Girls” was born.

QWhen planning your novels, how do you approach your research?

AIt’s a bit of a scattergun approach. I draw up a huge list of places to go and people to speak with, which includes libraries, community groups, Facebook groups and calling round the wartime Eastenders I know. I met a

lovely eighty-two-year-old lady called Ann who told me all about how she worked at Bryant & May. “There was such camaraderie and friendliness amongst the girls. It taught me to be strong, work hard and to appreciate the value of friendship,” she told me.

I knew my characters had to have these same values.

Q“The Allotment Girls” is an interesting topic. Do you enjoy gardening and would you like to have an allotment?

AI love pottering about in my small garden, but I’m afraid I don’t have the greenest of fingers. After writing this book, I actually applied to my local council for an allotment plot on which to try to grow a bit of fruit and veg and was told the waiting list was about five years long!

QYour stories are filled with the rich life of East End people of the past. Do you ever meet men and women – or have relatives – who have worked in the world you write about?

ANot relatives, but I’ve met men and women of the East End of old. Over the past four years I have interviewed countless people as research. They draw from many different backgrounds and religions, but all share common traits: a bristling pride of their cockney roots, a ferocious work ethic and a cracking sense of humour.

The memories of Britain’s wartime men and women are the lifeblood of our country. So why don’t we listen more? Why are they ignored, their stories lying forgotten like suitcases in a dusty attic? Once youth has gone, what remains? Wisdom!

QHow long does it take for you to research and write your novels?

AA year start to finish, but there is always an

overlap of writing, research, editing and promotion. I mix it up, too, with writing articles for newspapers and magazines in my other day job as a journalist.

QI’m intrigued to know what you will be writing about next and if you will ever move your stories to another part of the country?

AGood question. I am just working on a new nonfiction project and plotting ideas for a novel. Next week, I’m heading to Stratford in East London to access the archives for Yardley, as I’d love to find out more about the girls who packed makeup during the war, at a time when “beauty was a duty”!

The factory was situated in one of the smelliest areas of East London, over a bridge called “Stink House Bridge” nestled amongst offal and whalebone factories. Ironic when you consider that their soaps, perfumes and makeup ended up in the most fragrant West End stores.