The Mother of Necton
THE MOTHER OF NECTON
Hardback originally published by Breedon Books in 2009,and paperback by Larks Press in 2009.
This ebook version has been updated and is published by Mary Nichols. Available from http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mother-Necton-Century-Norfolk-Life-ebook/dp/B00I...
Eliza Ong was a countrywoman, small and neat and completely unflappable, with an indomitable courage and a prodigious capacity for hard work. Because she was always willing, cheerful and discreet, she became the village nurse and midwife, the person everyone turned to in times of need, 'the woman you sent for' in the parlance of the times. From World War One until the advent of the National Health Service in 1948, when she was well into her sixties, she helped new people into the world and eased the going from it of those who were dying, and she saved many a life by her skill and devotion.
Eliza would never reveal her age; she was impervious to hints and when anyone resorted to a direct question, would answer, with a twinkle in her eye and a stubbornness that was characteristic of her, 'As old as my tongue and a little older than my teeth.'
As she approached her century, relatives with an eye to a telegram from the Queen, made strenuous efforts to discover the truth, but she insisted she did not want to live to be a hundred. She got her wish and kept us guessing to the very end. In uncovering the reason for this I found myself transported back in time, living her early life with her, experiencing the sorrows and the joys, and her love of her family which extended to everyone around her. It was not a cloying love, not particularly demonstrative but it was there, solid and dependable a she was.
This is the story of her life and the small country community in which she lived, told through the eyes of her grandchildren and others who knew and loved her, and through her own vividly recounted tales that evoked so faithfully the times in which she lived.
Reviews:
Mary Nichols has written more than thirty historical novels, including some romantic tales for Mills and Boon, but this is her first work of non-fiction and this reviewer is certain it will join the ranks of her popular novels. Why? Because the story of her grandmother, Eliza Ong, the village’s unregulated and uncertificated midwife, is told with a mixture of love, respect and an understanding of the hard life she lived, all in a style of writing which is eminently readable and in its way is a masterpiece.
The way historical facts, village history, our native dialect and human emotions are brought together to record the story of just one lady and a village we take for granted as we drive swiftly past on the busy A47.' Friends of the Norfolk Dialect. www.norfolkdialect.com/reviews
Mary Nichols has written a beautiful story of her grandparents, Eliza and Walter. I have never read another book that has left me feeling as if I've been wrapped in a blanket of love and warmth as this one did.
Ms. Nichols has a unique quality of making her readers feel as though they are right there in the kitchen with her and her grandmother as Eliza tells her family stories. While this book is entitled "Mother of Necton", the title earned by Eliza with the village as she tended to both those entering this life and those who "had a good run" and were departing, it is really so much more.
You will not regret reading this book as you cry with Eliza's separation from her family at a young age following the death of her mother; laugh as Walter chides her for her driving of the pony and cart; live, or in some cases possibly re-live, WWII and rationing of food and petrol, and finally grieve when you read the last pages of the book and leave this wonderful family.
Here's a thumbs up and a big "THANK YOU" to Ms. Nichols for sharing her family and history with her readers.
Susan Wright, posted on Amazon.com
A definite keeper, right up there with the rural writings of Allison Uttley
and Flora Thompson. It's the biography of a couple who married in Norfolk
in 1904, and who just happen to be the grandparents of Mary Nichols. No
fictionalising history here - rather a fascinating true story from which I
learned so much about country life in the late Victorian era right through
to the 1970s. Beautifully written, I didn't want it to end, but the
consolation was that now I can look forward to the excitement of
discovering Mary's historical novels. If they are anything like The Mother
of Necton, they will be unputdownable. Penny Haysom, member of the Romantic Novelists Association.
My husband and I have both read 'The Mother of Necton' and thoroughly enjoyed it. I've enjoyed Mary Nichols' novels for years, but this is something very special. I wish I could remember my past as well as she's remembered hers. It's easy to read, vivid in its description of the past and you feel you know the characters. The book should be recognised as a national treasure.' Avid Reader posted on Amazon.co.uk