The Scarlet Sisters: My Nanna's Story of Secrets and Heartache on the Banks of the River Thames, Paperback/Helen Batten

Description A granddaughter's search for her nanna's secret past -- a story of love and loss, poverty and survival. 'Oh my goodness -- another girl Mrs Swain ' Clara's normal iron composure broke and she screamed, 'No That's not the bloody deal ' And that is how my nanna, Bertha Swain, entered the world. When Helen Batten's marriage breaks down, she starts on a journey of discovery into her family's past and the mysteries surrounding her enigmatic nanna's early life. What she unearths is a tale of five feisty red heads struggling to climb out of poverty and find love through two world wars. It's a story full of surprises and scandal -- a death in a workhouse, a son kept in a box, a shameful war record, a clandestine marriage and children taken far too soon. It's as if there is a family curse. But Helen also finds love, resilience and hope -- crazy wagers, late night Charlestons and stolen kisses. As she unravels the story of Nanna and her scarlet sisters, Helen starts to break the spell of the past, and sees a way she might herself find love again. About the author HELEN BATTEN is the Sunday Times bestselling author of Sisters of the East End . She studied history at Cambridge and then journalism at Cardiff University. She went on to become a producer and director at the BBC and now works as a writer and a psychotherapist. She lives in West London with her three daughters.