“One evening
when they are sitting quietly together
she breaks the silence
and starts to talk”
Dorothy tells the complete story of a Yorkshire woman, in verse, from her birth early in the last century to her death in the first years of this. Like so many of her generation, she lived a life both ordinary and extraordinary; shaded by grief, troubled by family dynamics, and restricted by the realities of class, location and gender. Hers was a life where survival itself, the simple act of continuing, was a victory to be celebrated – but one where the reminders of why we continue, the blinding moments of sunshine when the clouds part, were that much sweeter because of it.
Tender and insightful, harrowing and uplifting, Dorothy is a stunning act of empathy from a son towards his mother. Her story, told through the author’s assured, unpretentious verse, is both specific and universal enough to resonate with all who encounter it; to challenge some, heal others, and leave a lasting impression on the world Dorothy came to love.
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Dorothy by Neil Rathmell was published on 18 May 2023 by Valley Press. As part of this #Random ThingsTours Blog Tour, I am delighted to share an extract from the book with you today.
Our Dot
1.
this one’s different
Jack said when he saw the baby
she was the runt of the litter
John William had come first
Dinah came seven years later
both sturdy infants
now this one
it seemed to happen every seven years
whether they liked it or not
but that wasn’t what he meant
Annie didn’t know what he meant
but she knew it wasn’t that
growing up in a harbour town
before she knew him
he used to dive for pennies in the harbour
when he was old enough to leave home
he left
taking nothing with him
because they gave him nothing to take
he was small but fearless
fierce like a dog
he earned money from bare-knuckle boxing
but when he married Annie
a bonny girl
not much more than half his age
he promised to give it up
one of his eyes was half closed
but that happened later
when a cow kicked him
their first house was a tied cottage
at the top of a hill
Annie put chairs outside
where people could sit and get their breath back
she sold them home-made lemonade
a penny a glass
she learned to milk
they worked on farms
and saved until they had enough
to pay the rent
on a little farm of their own
when he came home one night
with his face cut and bruised
she thought he had broken his promise
and gone boxing again
but she was wrong
he had taken a drunken chap home to his wife
and when she came to the door
she threw a teapot at him
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He read English at Jesus College, Cambridge.
His first novel, The Old School, was published by Faber & Faber in 1976.
His short fiction has been published in literary magazines including Ambit, Prole, Popshot and The Penny Dreadful.
His plays have been produced by youth theatres and amateur drama groups in the UK, India and the Czech Republic.
After a career in education which took him to Cheshire, County Durham and Shropshire, he is now back in Yorkshire enjoying retirement with his wife, Jaspreet.
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