Lisa Blower shares the personal stories that helped pave the way for It’s Gone Dark Over Bill’s Mother’s. “They’re mostly stories about women but I remember growing up with a lot of women around me. I was surrounded by chattering matriarchs who were always telling stories and gossiping. The women of that time didn’t think they were doing anything interesting or significant or contributing to history, but of course they were.

“I remember telling my nan that I’d like to write her life history and she said whatever for as she hadn’t done anything. Those women were accepting rather than expecting. They worked their whole lives, they made armaments during the war – but they didn’t think they’d done anything interesting.”

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