Twopence to Cross the Mersey - Helen Forrester

Tough times, and a lively tale well-told, of the days before the Welfare State, and the lengths people were forced to when unemployed.  As the blurb says, there's no wallowing in self-pity, though there is anger, as Helen was forced to look after her siblings and neglect the schooling which she loved.

Helen Forrester died last November, and it was through reading her obituary that I decided to get hold of the book.  Worth a read, for itself, as well as to remind us of how we take our current safety nets for granted.