{"title":"Books by Billy Hopkins","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9780755343195","title":"High Hopes (The Hopkins Family Saga, Book 4)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBillly Hopkins' delightful novel HIGH HOPES is based on his own experiences as a young teacher in Manchester in the aftermath of war in the 1940s. From the author of OUR KID.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt's September 1945 and Billy Hopkins is off to London to train as a teacher, with only ten bob in his pocket. Despite his dad's gloomy warnings that he'll pick up bad ways from the toffs down South, Billy survives two years in the Big City, and returns to take up his first teaching job in Manchester - on £300 a year! \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe catch is his first class, Senior Four, who bitterly resent the raising of the school leaving age, and are all set to take it out on their teacher. Luckily the kid from Collyhurst has some tricks up his sleeve. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnd then Billy meets the beautiful Laura. But is she, as his dad says, 'too good for the likes of us'?\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56294697271669,"sku":"9780755343195","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780755343195_a1b50028-0f91-4f24-a396-e4736e297151.jpg?v=1786015959"},{"product_id":"9780755336425","title":"Whatever Next! (The Hopkins Family Saga, Book 7)","description":"\u003cp\u003eBilly Hopkins is thrilled to be released from the trials and tribulations of teaching when he takes early retirement. He's just buzzing with ideas for filling his time and making a spare buck - whether it's investing in apparently fail-safe business enterprises, starting up himself as an entrepreneur specialising in doll's houses or writing up the story of his life. Only one of those is likely to have the desired result on the financial front - but Billy's hilarious descriptions of his efforts, together with lovely glimpses of his ever-expanding family, make WHATEVER NEXT! a delightful and absolutely satisfying novel, which will update on-going readers and introduce many new ones to the unique world of the Hopkins household.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56294742884725,"sku":"9780755336425","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780755336425_97f2a9c1-6dcc-4dae-bfcd-b704c50d487a.jpg?v=1786015899"},{"product_id":"9780755343218","title":"Going Places (The Hopkins Family Saga, Book 5)","description":"It's 1950, and when Laura and Billy Hopkins return to Manchester from their honeymoon, they're in seventh heaven despite the austerity that has been going on since World War II. But the euphoria gradually evaporates and they settle into a penny-pinching existence on Billy's teaching salary, as babies and bills appear with alarming regularity. When Billy spots an advertisement for Education Officers in Kenya, it sounds like the answer to all their prayers, despite worries about the Mau Mau rebellion and the omnipresence of dangerous creatures. After much family debate, Laura, Billy and the junior Hopkins set off to Nairobi on a BOAC Argonaut and start on the biggest adventure of their lives...","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56294754287989,"sku":"9780755343218","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780755343218_3cb639b7-dc77-458c-b802-e673131b96c2.jpg?v=1786015961"},{"product_id":"9780755343225","title":"Anything Goes (The Hopkins Family Saga, Book 6)","description":"\u003cp\u003eIt's December 1963 when Billy Hopkins and his wife Laura arrive home in Manchester after five years in Africa. The world has changed beyond recognition: it's the swinging sixties, with headlines full of the Beatles and the pill, LSD and mini skirts. Billy's youngest son still believes in Santa Claus and while his daughter's reading Jackie, she's not even a teenager yet, so Billy's not too worried about the impact of modern society on his family. He's more concerned about the welfare of his increasingly forgetful father and about the daily challenges he faces as a college lecturer. When the four junior Hopkins start to choose their own, unexpected paths in life, though, Billy finds it harder than usual to see the funny side of things...\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56298127327605,"sku":"9780755343225","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780755343225_cf1ede0d-1e40-407b-bcc0-dbe31b51a0c8.jpg?v=1786015962"},{"product_id":"9780755359592","title":"Tommy's World (The Hopkins Family Saga, Book 3)","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe bestselling author of the nostalgic classics OUR KID and KATE'S STORY has based his engaging new novel on the fascinating and inspiring life of his father Tommy, born in a Manchester slum in 1886\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTommy Hopkins' early years aren't very promising. Born at the end of the nineteenth century in a slum district of Manchester, he's blessed with a loving, hard-working mam and dad, but they don't have two ha'pennies to rub together. The family is struck by tragedy not once but twice - but Tommy is a survivor. He quickly makes friends at school, and together they plot money-making schemes, settle scores and play lots of football. Then, at last, it's time to leave the playground behind. Denied the chance of a promising career as an engineer, Tommy finds employment at Manchester's Smithfield market and works his way up, finally becoming a porter. He's turning into a man, and amongst the young women who catch his eye is Kate Lally, who may just be the love of his life...\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56298298147189,"sku":"9780755359592","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780755359592_3f763285-608a-464c-8f06-a14933c77fa0.jpg?v=1786016142"},{"product_id":"9780755343201","title":"Kate's Story (The Hopkins Family Saga, Book 2)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e'Dad, it's the happiest day of my life,' Kate said. 'I wish time would stand still and it could be today forever.'\u003c\/i\u003e It's June 1897, and Kate is celebrating her eleventh birthday on the day of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKate's joy is short-lived, as tragedy strikes, threatening her family with the loss of all they hold dear.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBefore long they are evicted from their home in Ancoats, Manchester, and with no wages coming in and a mother unable to cope, Kate has to grow up fast. Her deepest desire is to keep her brothers and sisters together.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA journey of hope and heartache takes Kate from the hardships of the workhouse to the dubious comforts of a position in service to the rich; from the joys of marriage to a good man, to the sorrows and losses suffered during the Great War.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56299152212341,"sku":"9780755343201","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780755343201_b3f7b252-e6ab-4265-8fb5-7b2ec3ed2802.jpg?v=1786015960"},{"product_id":"9780755343188","title":"Our Kid (The Hopkins Family Saga)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e A STORY OF \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eWARMTH, WIT AND THE SPIRIT OF A WORKING-CLASS COMMUNITY.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePERFECT for fans of TV's \u003ci\u003eCall The Midwife\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Pursuit of Love - \u003c\/i\u003eand readers of Nadine Dorries, Nancy Revell and Anne Baker will adore the Hopkins family!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eREADERS LOVE \u003ci\u003eOUR KID\u003c\/i\u003e!\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'After just a few pages\u003cb\u003e gripped me\u003c\/b\u003e like pliers' - AMAZON READER REVIEW\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'\u003cb\u003eBeautifully written\u003c\/b\u003e. Hard to put down. Many laughs, and touching moments' - AMAZON READER REVIEW\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Give an \u003cb\u003einsight \u003c\/b\u003einto a Northern life of a different world written with a sense of\u003cb\u003e hardship, sadness, humour \u003c\/b\u003eand real\u003cb\u003e emotion' \u003c\/b\u003e- AMAZON READER REVIEW\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'I was\u003cb\u003e howling with laughter \u003c\/b\u003eone minute and in\u003cb\u003e tears\u003c\/b\u003e the next ... It's my\u003cb\u003e favourite \u003c\/b\u003ebook'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBilly Hopkins' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eOur Kid \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eis a warm-hearted and nostalgic tale of a boy's life: from the 1920s Manchester slums, through tough times as an evacuee during World War II, to the challenges of the post-war world for a hard-up family.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e'How wonderful to have a book like this... A glimpse of a lost reality' - Manchester Evening News\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIt was on a Sunday night in 1928 that Billy Hopkins made his first appearance. Billy's tenement home on the outskirts of Manchester would be considered a slum today, but he lived there happily with his large Catholic family, hatching money-making schemes with his many friends.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen war came, and the Luftwaffe dominated the night sky, Billy was evacuated to Blackpool. There he lived on a starvation diet while his own rations went to feed his landlady's children - 'I might as well be in Strangeways!'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBut even the cruel blows that were to be dealt to the family on his return to Manchester would not destroy Billy's fighting spirit - or his sense of humour.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003eWhat readers are saying about \u003ci\u003eOur Kid\u003c\/i\u003e: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Billy Hopkins is \u003cb\u003ea masterful storyteller\u003c\/b\u003e who \u003cb\u003edraws you into his world\u003c\/b\u003e of a working class household coping with, and surviving, the ups and downs of life'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'The characters are brilliant - \u003cb\u003eI will never ever forget this book\u003c\/b\u003e for as long as I live'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'\u003cb\u003eThe best read ever\u003c\/b\u003e'\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56311918854517,"sku":"9780755343188","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780755343188_d760eb86-cd32-4cc9-b70a-76301d590949.jpg?v=1786015958"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-billy-hopkins.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}