Brief introductions to my books below, see pages for more stuff. I hope you find something you like!
From Doodlebugs to Devon
Based on letters written by my mother, Yvonne Shaw, to my father during 1944-45, this book reveals what it was like for one woman to live through the latter stages of the second world war. We get a brief introduction to her wartime life as a housewife in south London, before it is suddenly shattered when the V1 flying bombs, or Doodlebugs, bring terror and destruction. Eventually she is able to escape to Devon, but even then her troubles are not over.
In the spirit of Nella Last, her fears, anxieties, cynicism and happiness unfold in her unique voice: brave, quick-witted, honest and funny, revealing differences between her reactions to events and the assumptions made in popular histories.
'A lovely slice of World War Two history. An interesting insight into how Londonders really reacted to the V1s and V2s and how one woman escaped to post-D Day Devon. .. Especially thought-provoking when another major European city, Kyiv, is under nightly attack from the 21st century equivalent of V1s.' (Nick Higham, former BBC correspondent)
'I very much enjoyed the book. Your mother 's letters are both vivid and witty, and the story of the V1s and V2s that you've woven around them is a beautifully clear and succinct summation of a part of recent history that's still relatively unknown.' (Lissa Evans, novelist, 'V for Victory', 'Crooked Heart')
'I found this portrait of an 'ordinary' woman and her son in the last awful year of the war unputdownable. A really lovely book.' (Sarah Harrison, novelist, 'Flowers of the Field' 'The Grass memorial')
'I promise you, this book is gripping, intelligent, thoughtful: full of detail and commonplace horror that was life in the London suburbs during WWII.' (Sylvia Suddes)
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The Secret Diary of a 1970s Secretary
The diary for 1971 of a secretary at the BBC
Available from bookshops and Amazon.
1971. In a world of miniskirts, decimalisation and Morecambe & Wise, young Sarah divides her time between work, a girls' hostel in London and her parents in Surrey.
She keeps a diary, detailing her work as a secretary at the BBC and time with friends. She wants a boyfriend but has no idea how to find one.
Instead, she stumbles into a deepening relationship with an older man. As the year goes on, she records her sexual awakening and the bitter-sweetness of her first love affair.
'Evocative . . . vivid and joyous diary' ( Joan Bakewell, Sunday Telegraph)
'I loved it!' (Gyles Brandreth, Twitter)
'Reading this entertaining story will unlock bittersweet memories for anyone who lived in "Swinging London"'. (Anthony Looch, iPaper)
'Sue Townsend meets Lynn Barber; the innocence and wit shine through this account . . . I found it charming! Such genuine innocence / ignorance girls had back then though! So captures that!' (Jill Dawson, author/Orange Prize short-listee)
'I couldn't put the book down. A jewel of a little book. Read it and you'll be glad you did.' (Gail Renard, chair of The Writer's Guild)
'She's a curious, candid chronicler of their quirky passion.' (Hephzibah Anderson, Mail on Sunday)
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Short skirts and shorthand:
secretaries in the 1970s
Available from bookshops, online in paperback or as an ebook.
What was it really like to work as a secretary in the 1970s?
Drawing on reminiscences from more than 60 women, this book describes their everyday working lives as typists and secretaries at all levels.
It vividly recreates that world of typewriters, telephones and Tippex; of smoke-filled rooms and tea trolleys.
Full of stories that will surprise, amuse, and horrify!
'Simply a terrific read. Authoritative, and packed with Sarah Shaw's characteristic canny humour and perceptiveness. Her interviewees' individual stories are beyond price - anyone who worked in an office between the late sixties and the early eighties will find so much to recognise, from Tippex and teamaking to saving the boss, the business and the day! Social history at its very best, can't recommend highly enough.' (Sarah Harrison, author)
'Very readable, with little stories and observations from many people’s memories. It is well written, with a very charming, rather dry sense of humour.' (Amy C)
'Fun to read, and very evocative of the past of so many women.' (Gillian Summers)
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