Blog Tour- THE CANDLE FACTORY GIRL - 9/3/18
Blog Tour
THE CANDLE FACTORY GIRL
By TANIA CROSSE
Today on my Blog I have the pleasure of Sharing with you.....
The Candle Factory Girl
I would like to thank Melanie Price at Aria and Tania Crosse for inviting me on the Blog Tour.
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Book Information
1930's London - A backstreet saga full of hopes, dreams and the fight for survival. Perfect for the fans of Rosie Clarke and Lindsey Hutchinson.
Work at Price's Candle Factory in Battersea is tedious for intelligent, seventeen-year-old Hillie Hardwick, but she knows she is lucky to have a job at all.
Her home life is no better, as she constantly battles with her exacting and bullying father in order to protect her mother and five younger siblings from his abuse.
Her only solace is her loving relationship with the chaotic Parker family and her best friend, Gert Parker.
When matters violently escalate for Hillie, smitten Jack-the-Lad Jimmy Baxter seems her only salvation.
But could this be the biggest mistake of her life, and should she be looking for
protection nearer home?
A story that crackles with unease where courage and friendship are the only hope
Links to buy
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2sKD3IJ
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2CB9ZTE
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2HxyIMs
iBooks: https://apple.co/2Ht50rU
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Guest Post
THE CANDLE FACTORY GIRL
Memories of Battersea Nowadays, Battersea is considered a sought-after area of south-west London. Long gone are the nearby industries, Price͛s Candle Factory included, that used to spew smoke into the atmosphere. The two hundred acres of Battersea Park that produce a haven for peace, recreation and fresh air, are a stone͛s throw away. The back streets are quiet, yet bustling
central London is but a short trip by bus or train, or a longer walk for the more energetic.
Our house in Banbury Street, now beautifully renovated, was on the market a few years ago for a huge amount of money. If my parents had owned it rather than renting the top part of the house, they would have been well-off indeed.
At the end of the war, because of the Blitz and then the V1 and V2 rocket attacks in 1944-5, there was a dreadful housing shortage, particularly before the ͚pre-fab͛ building programme
got going. So it was a wonder my parents managed to secure the tenancy of the two bedrooms on the top floor, and a sitting room and small kitchen on the middle level. There was no bathroom, and just one toilet for the whole house, down in the semi-basement.
I believe that the first few houses, including ours, on that side of the street, belonged at the time to the brewery. They were considered superior because the original servants͛ quarters in the semi-basements necessitated a flight of stone steps up to the main front door. In our semi-basement, lived a dear, kindly elderly widow, a retired cook. She became our beloved Nanny Lloyd, and we spent as much time with her as we did in our own part of the house.
All of which allowed me to describe Jessica͛s home in such detail.
My heroine, Hillie, however, and her friend, Gert, live on the opposite side of the street.
Sadly, this terrace of modest yet characterful houses built later in the Nineteenth Century was demolished in the 1970s and replaced with modern flats. Such a pity as all the similar
properties in the adjoining streets have been restored and now offer popular residences.
Price͛s Candle Factory, too, has gone. Some of the buildings fronting onto York Road now have commercial use, but between them and the river behind is now residential, so skilfully
done that it is difficult to know which is newbuild and which is factory conversion.
Battersea Park, as much part of our lives as it is for Hillie, her friends and family, has also undergone changes. I knew it when the pleasure gardens were there, a prettily landscaped
funfair created for the 1951 Festival of Britain. I remember the tree walk, a wooden structure leading through the lofty branches above the park. Above all, I adored the famous Guinness Clock, waiting with such excitement for it to burst into life every fifteen minutes.
I have no recollection of the aviaries and deer enclosure. I am guessing they were removed when war broke out. The pleasure gardens, tree walk and Guinness Clock have all gone, too, and the park is so cosmopolitan that you can hear spoken almost any language you can name.
Clapham Junction also holds strong memories for me. I often travelled with my mother by bus or train. I remember waiting on the platform, enthralled as I watched the gigantic steam engines hiss into the station like fiery dragons. Many of the trains were diesel driven, but
they weren͛t the same. Then there were the ͚banana arches͛, warehouses beneath the raised tracks along the back entrance to the station. Memories still haunt me of walking past
on dark, misty evenings, clutching my mother͛s hand. It was so creepy that I shudder at the thought even now. So I had to bring them into the story, a perfect place for – well, I won͛t
tell you. I don͛t want to spoil it for when you read the book!
My own family life was very happy, and nothing like that of any of the characters in the book. Yet I felt drawn to set The Candle Factory Girl in the same street. But I will leave you
with one thought. When my parents rented those rooms in Battersea, they barely had a penny to their names. So how did they own their own home by the time they retired, and now lie together in a country churchyard in a small Berkshire village. Perhaps there͛s another book in there somewhere...?
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My Review
4☆ A Beautiful insight into the 30s
The Candle Factory Girl is a beautifully written historical Saga.
I adore reading historical stories set in the 30s life was so much different then.
We meet Hillie a young women setting out to work in the Candle Factory.
Her father however is an evil and Minipulative beast who bullies Hillie all the time.
Hillie gets the attention from Jimmy who also works at the factory doing the deliveries. He has a reputation as a ladies man. But he also has a big soft spot for Hillie.
He is well aware of how her dad treats her and he knows he has to tread carefully if he wants to get to know her.
Can Jimmy truly save Hillie from her abusive life at home. Or will it only end in disaster and upset?
Hillie's best friend was Gert. They were literally born together. Best Friends since birth. I loved their bond together.
Gert's family is everything Hillie's isn't. Warm and loving. Even with no money they welcome Hillie into their family.
Hillie is head strong, determined and protective. She only wants the best for her mother and siblings as she tries to protect them from her father.
You see her father was always a stern man with abusive tendencies. But after being made sergeant in the army he came out 10xs worse. Expecting his family to obey as his soldiers did.
The Candle Factory Girl is a beautiful comming of age story.
Tania gives the reader a fantastic glimpse into what it was like for women in the 30s.
This is a great Saga that packs so much emotion and passion into it that you are swept away, wishing a better life for Hillie as her character gets under your skin.
If you enjoy historical Sagas then this one is for you. A great story for the Year of the Women!
🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯
Author Bio
Delaying her childhood dream of writing historical novels until her family had grown up, Tania eventually completed a series of published stories based on her beloved Dartmoor.
She is now setting her future sagas in London and the south east.
Follow Tania Crosse
Website: http://www.tania-crosse.co.uk/
Twitter: @TaniaCrosse
Facebook: @TaniaCrosseAuthor
🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯
If you enjoyed my Blog post then please share so we can get everyone reading and Talking about.....
The Candle Factory Girl
You can also follow along with the rest of the Blog Tour by checking out the Poster Below ⬇
🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕
Work at Price's Candle Factory in Battersea is tedious for intelligent, seventeen-year-old Hillie Hardwick, but she knows she is lucky to have a job at all.
Her home life is no better, as she constantly battles with her exacting and bullying father in order to protect her mother and five younger siblings from his abuse.
Her only solace is her loving relationship with the chaotic Parker family and her best friend, Gert Parker.
When matters violently escalate for Hillie, smitten Jack-the-Lad Jimmy Baxter seems her only salvation.
But could this be the biggest mistake of her life, and should she be looking for
protection nearer home?
A story that crackles with unease where courage and friendship are the only hope
Links to buy
Amazon: http://amzn.to/2sKD3IJ
Kobo: http://bit.ly/2CB9ZTE
Google Play: http://bit.ly/2HxyIMs
iBooks: https://apple.co/2Ht50rU
🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯
Guest Post
THE CANDLE FACTORY GIRL
Memories of Battersea Nowadays, Battersea is considered a sought-after area of south-west London. Long gone are the nearby industries, Price͛s Candle Factory included, that used to spew smoke into the atmosphere. The two hundred acres of Battersea Park that produce a haven for peace, recreation and fresh air, are a stone͛s throw away. The back streets are quiet, yet bustling
central London is but a short trip by bus or train, or a longer walk for the more energetic.
Our house in Banbury Street, now beautifully renovated, was on the market a few years ago for a huge amount of money. If my parents had owned it rather than renting the top part of the house, they would have been well-off indeed.
At the end of the war, because of the Blitz and then the V1 and V2 rocket attacks in 1944-5, there was a dreadful housing shortage, particularly before the ͚pre-fab͛ building programme
got going. So it was a wonder my parents managed to secure the tenancy of the two bedrooms on the top floor, and a sitting room and small kitchen on the middle level. There was no bathroom, and just one toilet for the whole house, down in the semi-basement.
I believe that the first few houses, including ours, on that side of the street, belonged at the time to the brewery. They were considered superior because the original servants͛ quarters in the semi-basements necessitated a flight of stone steps up to the main front door. In our semi-basement, lived a dear, kindly elderly widow, a retired cook. She became our beloved Nanny Lloyd, and we spent as much time with her as we did in our own part of the house.
All of which allowed me to describe Jessica͛s home in such detail.
My heroine, Hillie, however, and her friend, Gert, live on the opposite side of the street.
Sadly, this terrace of modest yet characterful houses built later in the Nineteenth Century was demolished in the 1970s and replaced with modern flats. Such a pity as all the similar
properties in the adjoining streets have been restored and now offer popular residences.
Price͛s Candle Factory, too, has gone. Some of the buildings fronting onto York Road now have commercial use, but between them and the river behind is now residential, so skilfully
done that it is difficult to know which is newbuild and which is factory conversion.
Battersea Park, as much part of our lives as it is for Hillie, her friends and family, has also undergone changes. I knew it when the pleasure gardens were there, a prettily landscaped
funfair created for the 1951 Festival of Britain. I remember the tree walk, a wooden structure leading through the lofty branches above the park. Above all, I adored the famous Guinness Clock, waiting with such excitement for it to burst into life every fifteen minutes.
I have no recollection of the aviaries and deer enclosure. I am guessing they were removed when war broke out. The pleasure gardens, tree walk and Guinness Clock have all gone, too, and the park is so cosmopolitan that you can hear spoken almost any language you can name.
Clapham Junction also holds strong memories for me. I often travelled with my mother by bus or train. I remember waiting on the platform, enthralled as I watched the gigantic steam engines hiss into the station like fiery dragons. Many of the trains were diesel driven, but
they weren͛t the same. Then there were the ͚banana arches͛, warehouses beneath the raised tracks along the back entrance to the station. Memories still haunt me of walking past
on dark, misty evenings, clutching my mother͛s hand. It was so creepy that I shudder at the thought even now. So I had to bring them into the story, a perfect place for – well, I won͛t
tell you. I don͛t want to spoil it for when you read the book!
My own family life was very happy, and nothing like that of any of the characters in the book. Yet I felt drawn to set The Candle Factory Girl in the same street. But I will leave you
with one thought. When my parents rented those rooms in Battersea, they barely had a penny to their names. So how did they own their own home by the time they retired, and now lie together in a country churchyard in a small Berkshire village. Perhaps there͛s another book in there somewhere...?
🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯
My Review
4☆ A Beautiful insight into the 30s
The Candle Factory Girl is a beautifully written historical Saga.
I adore reading historical stories set in the 30s life was so much different then.
We meet Hillie a young women setting out to work in the Candle Factory.
Her father however is an evil and Minipulative beast who bullies Hillie all the time.
Hillie gets the attention from Jimmy who also works at the factory doing the deliveries. He has a reputation as a ladies man. But he also has a big soft spot for Hillie.
He is well aware of how her dad treats her and he knows he has to tread carefully if he wants to get to know her.
Can Jimmy truly save Hillie from her abusive life at home. Or will it only end in disaster and upset?
Hillie's best friend was Gert. They were literally born together. Best Friends since birth. I loved their bond together.
Gert's family is everything Hillie's isn't. Warm and loving. Even with no money they welcome Hillie into their family.
Hillie is head strong, determined and protective. She only wants the best for her mother and siblings as she tries to protect them from her father.
You see her father was always a stern man with abusive tendencies. But after being made sergeant in the army he came out 10xs worse. Expecting his family to obey as his soldiers did.
The Candle Factory Girl is a beautiful comming of age story.
Tania gives the reader a fantastic glimpse into what it was like for women in the 30s.
This is a great Saga that packs so much emotion and passion into it that you are swept away, wishing a better life for Hillie as her character gets under your skin.
If you enjoy historical Sagas then this one is for you. A great story for the Year of the Women!
🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯
Author Bio
Delaying her childhood dream of writing historical novels until her family had grown up, Tania eventually completed a series of published stories based on her beloved Dartmoor.
She is now setting her future sagas in London and the south east.
Follow Tania Crosse
Website: http://www.tania-crosse.co.uk/
Twitter: @TaniaCrosse
Facebook: @TaniaCrosseAuthor
🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯💕🕯
If you enjoyed my Blog post then please share so we can get everyone reading and Talking about.....
The Candle Factory Girl
You can also follow along with the rest of the Blog Tour by checking out the Poster Below ⬇
Follow Aria
Website: www.ariafiction.com
Facebook: @ariafiction
Twitter: @aria_fiction
Instagram: @ariafiction
NetGalley: http://bit.ly/2lkKB0e
Sign up to the Aria newsletter: http://bit.ly/2jQxVtV
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