SALLY OF COCK LANE

Welcome to Cock Lane. Mind the baskets. London is noisy, filthy, crowded and forever making rules about people who never asked for them. And right in the middle of it is Sally. She has a basket under her arm, debts at the bakery, two fiercely loyal friends and absolutely no intention of becoming responsible for anybody. Unfortunately, Cock Lane has other ideas. When new regulations send more women into an already overcrowded street, Sally somehow finds herself negotiating with City officials, organising rooms, defending her neighbours and presiding over a food table that is definitely not a market. Then there is Peg foul-mouthed, irrepressible and twenty-eight years old whenever somebody else is buying the ale. There is Peter and his perpetually endangered fish. There are pies, cockfights, drunken songs, stolen hats, crooked signs and an official with a mysteriously misplaced shoe. And somewhere amongst it all is Matthew Hale, whose biggest mistake may be finding Sally extremely funny. But beneath the laughter is a street full of people simply trying to live. When danger arrives at Cock Lane, Sally discovers exactly how fiercely a community will protect its own. And when loss follows, she learns there are some things even she cannot argue, negotiate or shout into submission. Funny, warm and full of old-London spirit, Sally of Cock Lane is a fictional journey into the history and folklore of one extraordinary London street and the unforgettable woman who might have called it home. Because this isn't merely Cock Lane. This is Sally's town.