EastEnders - Book One: Home Fires Burning
Encyclopedia
EastEnders – Book One: Home Fires Burning is the first novel in the series of books by Hugh Miller, which tell the background story of many original characters from the BBC
soap opera
EastEnders
.
This book focuses on the effect of the Second World War in the fictional London borough
of Walford
, and tells the stories of Louise Beale and Dr. Harold Legg
. Each chapter alternates the character whose story is being told, for example, chapter one focuses on Lou and Albert Beale, whereas chapter two focuses on Dr. Legg.
are moving into Lou's mother's council house
, number 45 Albert Square
, which was left to Lou in her mother's will.
Lou's brother, Terence, brings Albert some illegal goods that have been rationed, and Albert buys a box of Cadbury's Milk Tray for Lou. As Terence leaves, the rent man, called Mr. Emmett, arrives and signs number 45 over to Lou.
Meanwhile, trainee doctor Harold Legg, and his colleague Mike Phillips are helping their senior, Dr. Lumley, in the Emergency Room at St. Bartholomew's hospital, where there are many casualties from bomb
explosions. Harold is given the task of cleaning up a patient, and a trainee nurse is sent to help him. He slowly becomes smitten with the nurse, and starts a conversation with her, although he doesn't discover her name. At lunch, his life-long friend, Roger Lewis, also a trainee doctor, tells him that the nurse's name is Judith Martin, and to Harold's dismay, that she's seeing a houseman from the hospital.
Some time later, we find Lou missing her husband, as he has ben at war for two weeks. Her sister Elsie has moved in with her, and tries to get Lou to pull herself together. Elsie has learnt that the local troublemaker Reg Cox has offered to set up Lou's fruit
and vegetable
market stall. Elsie converses with the landlord of the local pub, The Queen Victoria
, Gus Leonard, in front of Lou to attempt to persuade her to reconsider accepting Reg's offer. Lou decides to stop brooding over Albert's absence, after a conversation with her four-year-old daughter, Dora.
Elsewhere, Harold is having dinner with his father, Gregory, and interfering mother and sister, Miriam. He disagrees with Miriam over her extreme Jewish views, and decided to walk out, going to his uncle Leon's house in stead. He talks to his uncle about Nurse Martin, and the next day tries to find her. He eventually gives up, but then bumps into her and introduces himself. They arrange to meet the following Friday night for a date.
After Harry became ill with a pulmonary virus, Reg Cox visits her and gives her a chocolate
bar for the children.
In August, Lou decides to stop trading from her stall, as fruit has been rationed. As she goes to put her barrow in its store for one last time, she discovers Reg Cox and his friend George have been using it to store illegal contraband. She tells them she won't tell anyone if they give £
50 to the Red Cross collections box in the pub.
In a lecture at St. Bartholomew's, Harold gives an excellent answer to the lecturer's question, that his rival, the pompous Mike Phillips, cannot answer.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
.
This book focuses on the effect of the Second World War in the fictional London borough
London borough
The administrative area of Greater London contains thirty-two London boroughs. Inner London comprises twelve of these boroughs plus the City of London. Outer London comprises the twenty remaining boroughs of Greater London.-Functions:...
of Walford
Walford
Walford is a fictional borough of east London in the BBC soap opera EastEnders. The name Walford is both a street in Dalston where one of the series' creators, Tony Holland, lived and a blend of Walthamstow, where Holland was born, and Stratford. The suffix 'ford' is also found throughout East...
, and tells the stories of Louise Beale and Dr. Harold Legg
Dr. Harold Legg
Doctor Harold Legg is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by Leonard Fenton. Dr. Legg was Walford's original GP. He was widely trusted within the community, and was always on hand to dish out advice. Dr Legg appeared as a regular character between 1985 and 1989, but...
. Each chapter alternates the character whose story is being told, for example, chapter one focuses on Lou and Albert Beale, whereas chapter two focuses on Dr. Legg.
Plot summary
Chapter one of the book starts in 1941, during the Second World War, when Albert Beale has just received his call-up papers from the War Department, and the BealesThe Beale/Fowler family
The Beale/Fowler family is a fictional family in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.For many years before the show began, the Beale family consisted of head of the family, Albert, his wife, Lou Beale, and their three children, Kenny and twins Pauline and Pete...
are moving into Lou's mother's council house
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
, number 45 Albert Square
Albert Square
Albert Square is the fictional location of the BBC soap opera EastEnders. It is ostensibly located in the equally fictional London borough of Walford in London's East End. The square's design was based on the real life Fassett Square in Hackney, and was given the name Albert Square after the real...
, which was left to Lou in her mother's will.
Lou's brother, Terence, brings Albert some illegal goods that have been rationed, and Albert buys a box of Cadbury's Milk Tray for Lou. As Terence leaves, the rent man, called Mr. Emmett, arrives and signs number 45 over to Lou.
Meanwhile, trainee doctor Harold Legg, and his colleague Mike Phillips are helping their senior, Dr. Lumley, in the Emergency Room at St. Bartholomew's hospital, where there are many casualties from bomb
Bomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
explosions. Harold is given the task of cleaning up a patient, and a trainee nurse is sent to help him. He slowly becomes smitten with the nurse, and starts a conversation with her, although he doesn't discover her name. At lunch, his life-long friend, Roger Lewis, also a trainee doctor, tells him that the nurse's name is Judith Martin, and to Harold's dismay, that she's seeing a houseman from the hospital.
Some time later, we find Lou missing her husband, as he has ben at war for two weeks. Her sister Elsie has moved in with her, and tries to get Lou to pull herself together. Elsie has learnt that the local troublemaker Reg Cox has offered to set up Lou's fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
and vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
market stall. Elsie converses with the landlord of the local pub, The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria
The Queen Victoria is a fictional Victorian public house in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders. It has the fictional address of 46 Albert Square, Walford, London E20.-Appearance and development:...
, Gus Leonard, in front of Lou to attempt to persuade her to reconsider accepting Reg's offer. Lou decides to stop brooding over Albert's absence, after a conversation with her four-year-old daughter, Dora.
Elsewhere, Harold is having dinner with his father, Gregory, and interfering mother and sister, Miriam. He disagrees with Miriam over her extreme Jewish views, and decided to walk out, going to his uncle Leon's house in stead. He talks to his uncle about Nurse Martin, and the next day tries to find her. He eventually gives up, but then bumps into her and introduces himself. They arrange to meet the following Friday night for a date.
After Harry became ill with a pulmonary virus, Reg Cox visits her and gives her a chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
bar for the children.
In August, Lou decides to stop trading from her stall, as fruit has been rationed. As she goes to put her barrow in its store for one last time, she discovers Reg Cox and his friend George have been using it to store illegal contraband. She tells them she won't tell anyone if they give £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
50 to the Red Cross collections box in the pub.
In a lecture at St. Bartholomew's, Harold gives an excellent answer to the lecturer's question, that his rival, the pompous Mike Phillips, cannot answer.
Characters who appear
- Albert Beale
- Lou BealeLou BealeLouise Ada "Lou" Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, played by Anna Wing. The character is played by Karen Meagher in the 1988 EastEnders special, Civvy Street, set during the Second World War....
- Terence Medeemey
- Dr. Harold LeggDr. Harold LeggDoctor Harold Legg is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by Leonard Fenton. Dr. Legg was Walford's original GP. He was widely trusted within the community, and was always on hand to dish out advice. Dr Legg appeared as a regular character between 1985 and 1989, but...
- Mike Phillips
- Judith Legg
- Roger Lewis
- Elsie Medeemey
- Mavis Elliot
- Gus Leonard
- Reg Cox
- Harry Beale
- Kenny Beale
- Dora Beale
- Ronnie Beale
- Miriam Legg
- Dr. Gregory Legg
- Leon Legg
- Betty Greaves
- Jimmy Douglas
- Flo Leonard