The Black Madonna of Derby by Joanna Czechowska
It is 1964 and plump and plain Wanda is 14, desperate to fit in with her Derby school friends, to be accepted, to be part of the gang. She dislikes her Polish heritage and answers in English when her family to speak to her in their native language. Seeing the film A Hard Day's Night changes her life and two years later she is working in a boutique off Oxford Street in London. But her love for freelance photographer Roger is not reciprocated and, humiliated, she returns to her family in Derby. Wanda's mother, beautiful and gentle Helena, was born in 1925 in Warsaw and she works hard to provide for her husband, two daughters and son in the new society. But she is hiding her own demons. Plucked from a Warsaw street by the occupying German forces, she was forced to work in a clothing factory in Germany. This same company is now making trendy clothes for young girls and this fact has a devastating effect on both her and Wanda. Helena's mother Barbara is from a monied family in pre-revolution Poland. She is proud and romantic and fills her favourite granddaughter Zosia with tales of the old country. Barbara married a prince just after the First World War, but he was did not turn out as she had hoped. After 40 years of widowhood, she decides to return to Poland to be buried in the same grave as her beloved. But the family in Warsaw bring back unwelcome memories and the hardships under communism prove too great so she returns to Derby. But tragedy awaits her and the family is split asunder. A few years later, redemption comes in the form of cousin Pawel from Poland. Wanda finally has her romance and happy ending and the election of a Polish Pope in 1978 brings renewed hope.
Rubery Book Award, 2011: The judges found the cover of The Black Madonna of Derby to be striking and many of them found the novel enjoyable and entertainingThe author's grasp of the complexity of relationships between mothers and daughters make the novel a worthwhile read.
Joanna Czechowska's father came to England from Poland during the Second World War and joined the RAF as a pilot. He settled in Derby after the war with his English wife and Joanna was born and brought up in the city. She learned Polish from her paternal grandmother and her early childhood was steeped in Polish culture. She studied for a BA in history at University College London and an MA in London Studies at Birbeck College before embarking on a career as a magazine journalist and short story writer.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780955884009 |
| ISBN 10 | 0955884004 |
| Title | The Black Madonna of Derby |
| Author | Joanna Czechowska |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Silkmill Press |
| Year published | 2008-04-01 |
| Number of pages | 200 |
| Prizes | Short-listed for Rubery Book Award 2011 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |