Jean Fullerton

2006

Harry Bowling Prize

The late Harry Bowling who wrote Saga’s set in East London and I have two thing in common. Firstly we were both born within the sound of Mary-e-Bow church in the City of London which makes  us genuine cockneys and secondly we both love the history of the East End of London. Added to this our names will be forever linked on the 13^th September I was awarded the 2006 Harry Bowling Prize for a novel set on London. My novel No Cure for Love is set in East London, 1832 and tells the story of Ellen O’Casey, a respectable but poor Irish widow and Robert Munroe, an earnest doctor with a brilliant career in medicine before him. Ellen sings in local public houses to support her family and Robert is in East London to study the effects of disease and poverty.I was thrilled enough to be short-listed and when I heard Laura Longrigg, of MBA Literary Agents, read out my name as the winner I was uncharacteristically, lost for words.  What was already a wonderful evening suddenly became the best. What was so good was I was able to share it with so many RNA friends, who looked almost as excited I did.  Along with Laura, Penny, Sophie from MBA, Jane Morpeth, Harry’s editor from Hodder Headlines and Harry’s children, a number of previous winners were there, all of who were enthusiastic about No Cure for Love. As one of them said, ‘they could almost see the rats scurrying along in the gutters’. Although it is a cliché the whole evening was a dream come true.