My East End

Gilda O'Neill's The East End traces the East End of London - cockneys, criminals, street markets, pub singalongs, dog racing, jellied eels. London's East End it is a place at once appealing and unruly, comforting and incomprehensible. Gilda O'Neill, an East Ender herself shows there is more to this fascinating area than a collection of cliched images. Using oral history and more traditional sources she builds up a powerful image of this community - bringing to us, with wit and honesty, the real story of London's East End. 'Every page is a delight. Every chapter made vivid by a writer who has poured heart and soul into her book' Daily Mail 'A rich tapestry... a finely detailed examination of our not so distant past. Her book is as much a piece of history as the accounts it contains' Time Out Gilda O'Neill was born and brought up in the East End. She left school at fifteen but returned to education as a mature student. She wrote full-time and continued to live in the East End with her husband and family. Sadly she died on 24 September 2010 after a short illness.