by Lucy Edington

Created on: July 30, 2009

The 'Our Kate' of the title is Catherine Cookson's mother. The book is an autobiographical account of the author's life that, due to many circumstances, had no real choice but to centre around Kate for the most part. The mixed emotions of the author are very clear from the work, and it is a frank and eye-opening portrayal of childhood in the early part of the twentieth century. Piers Dudgeon, in his book "The Girl From Leam Lane: The Life and Writing of Catherine Cookson", tells us that "she rewrote ["Our Kate"] at least eight times to make it palatable" [P47].

Catherine Cookson was born in June 1906, the illegitimate daughter of Kate McMullan. Catherine is later told by her aunt that her mother was wooed by a 'gentleman' and Catherine was the result of this affair. The gentleman never came back to make good on his promise to marry Kate. It was decided that Catherine was to be looked after by her grandparents as if they were her mother and father, and Catherine believed their story until she was harshly informed by a playmate at the age of seven that she had 'no da'.

Her life is then thrown into turmoil as she realises her 'sister' Kate is actually her mother, and that this means that she has a mother who drinks, which brings her great shame. Kate leads a harsh life, and so finds solace at the bottom of a bottle. Kate and Catherine had never had a proper chance to bond, and Catherine struggles for the rest of Kate's life with the twin emotions of a sentimental love and a furious hate. The stigma of illegitimacy was a huge burden for the author, and she struggled endlessly with her identity and a fierce need to prove herself.

There were always money worries in the family. The house was occupied by 'Granda' John, Uncle Jack, 'Grandma' Rose, Kate and Catherine. Piers Dudgeon explains that in the first place Catherine lived "there could be as many as nine or ten people living in the three-room house at any one time, for sleeping five lodgers was not unheard of" [ P33]. Catherine always thought that the money worries were better solved by saving and not drinking, but she would often be asked to walk miles and miles with a heavy jug called 'the grey hen' in order to get the beer. She was also forced to frequent 'the pawn' to trade her Grandfather's suit for money. Catherine found this humiliating as she had to pass men at the docks who all knew who she was and could guess where she was headed.

Illness featured greatly in Catherine's life. She often

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