Twopence to Cross the Mersey

When Helen Forrester’s father went bankrupt in 1930 she and her six siblings were forced into utmost poverty and slum surroundings in Depression-ridden Liverpool. The running of the household and the care of the younger children all fell on twelve-year-old Helen. With very little food or help from her feckless parents, Helen led a life of unrelenting drudgery and hardship.

Writing about her experiences later in life, Helen Forrester shed light on an almost forgotten part of life in Britain. , Forrester’s memoir of these grim days is as heart-warming as it is shocking.