Why a Booktrail?
1952: In a city of strangers, who can you trust?
She Came to Stay
What you need to know before your trail
Dina Demetriou has travelled from Cyprus for a better life. She’s certain that excitement, adventure and opportunity are out there, waiting – if only she knew where to look.
Her passion for clothes and flair for sewing land her a job repairing the glittering costumes at the notorious Pelican Revue. It’s here that she befriends the mysterious and beautiful Bebba.
With her bleached-blonde hair and an appetite for mischief, Bebba is like no Greek Dina has ever met before. She guides Dina around the fashionable shops, bars and clubs of Soho, and Dina finally feels life has begun.
But Bebba has a secret. And as thick smog brings the city to a standstill, the truth emerges with devastating results. Dina’s new life now hangs by a thread. What will be left when the fog finally clears? And will Dina be willing to risk everything to protect her future?
Locations
ResetTravel Guide
Bring London and 1950s Soho
This story is inspired by the author’s own family background.
Set in Soho in the 1950s, this is the atmospheric novel which takes you back to a different time and place. This is London post war and so the smog, pollution and tooing and frooing.
Soho is the place to go for clubs and seedy clubs like The Pelican in the novel. Bebba spends a lot of time here and she meets Dina, adding that glamour and glitz that only nightclubs in this area can bring.
In contrast, the life of a seamstress does appear to be less interesting. Dina could be moving from one world to another.
This is a new country but also a hostile one and the city is not called the Big Smoke (and mirrors) for nothing.
There is a visit to Liverpool and Cyprus but London is the principal setting for this story of the Greek Cypriot immigrant community.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: She Came to Stay
Destination/location: London Author/guide:Eleni Kyriacou Departure Time: 1950s
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