In the years before the war, the child Nina always made up stories to amuse herself and her younger brother. Family stories of a ship’s cook, and an old tramp – the memory of whom, Nina’s mother would rather have had erased completely. Nina Bawden was born in 1925 in London, this collection of memoirs opens with memories of her family, aunts, uncles, grandparents and her own parents. I loved every word of this book, and was rather bereft when it was over, not only did I love the stories of Nina Bawden’s life, I realised as I neared the end – that I really liked her. With In My Own Time, Bawden tells her own story – in a series of, frequently very honest – vignettes starting naturally enough with her childhood. Although I have read only about eight of her twenty adult novels, I have found her to be a writer of great insight and a superb storyteller.
Naturally – as with many prolific writers – her novels do vary a little in quality. I’ve come to believe that not everyone enjoys Nina Bawden’s writing as much as I do. I rediscovered Nina Bawden as an adult, and it was like re-connecting with an old friend. Carrie’s War was one of the books of my childhood, I think I have carried the memory of that book and the 1970s TV adaptation of it with me ever since.
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