While the men were away at war it was strong women like Joan, Marie, Babs, Beattie and Minksy who ruled the streets of the East End. Kate Thompson tells the real stories of the war experienced by these matriarchs, a tribe of working-class women in the stinking slums, teeming tenements and sweatshops of East London. Forget church halls and jam-making, these powerfully authentic stories will have you questioning what you thought you knew about wartime women. From standing up to the Kray twins, taking over the London Underground and crawling out of bombsites, these women fought to survive and protect their community in some of our country's darkest hours.

Author Biography

Kate Thompson is an award-winning journalist, ghost-writer and novelist who has published nine fiction and non-fiction titles. She worked at Pick Me Up magazine for six years and was subsequently named as IPC's 'True Life Writer of the Year' in 2006. Since then, Kate has worked on national newspapers, including the Daily Express and Daily Mail. Her debut novel, Secrets of the Singer Girls, became a Sunday Times bestseller in 2015.