The Liverpool Basque

By Helen Forrester

Book Overview

Another moving and heart-warming tale set in Merseyside from the author of Twopence to Cross the Mersey.

In the early years of this century, many Basques left their homeland in the Pyrenees, between France and Spain, to seek a better life in the New World. Most passed through the great port of Liverpool on their way. The family of little Manuel Echaniz stayed.

The Liverpool Basque is the story of Manuel's childhood and coming of age in the teeming streets of the Mersey docklands. It is a story of poverty, comradeship, hardship and generosity. Brought up by women while the men are at sea, Manuel grows up with a fierce pride in his heritage and a powerful will to survive in an era of deprivation and unemployment. Against all odds, he gets himself an education of sorts and sets off on the long voyage of his life.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0007305117
• ISBN13: 9780007305117
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 404 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.0" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

A story that appeals to my heart

If you love stories that are based on humanity and the trials and triumphs of life, but most of all you just love a good read, then don't pass this book up. Helen Forrester is so perceptive to human nature, but her true talent is expressing it through her characters, making them live in your mind. This story is based in Liverpool, but you really become enveloped in the rich Basque culture. What this family experiences through the Great Depression, WW2 and beyond made me appreciate their lives, and my own. Truly, my words can't justify the greatness of this book. I also highly recommend Ms. Forrester's own accounts of her childhood and youth growing up painfully poor in Liverpool - they are truly stunning.