Ruskin Park: Sylvia, Me and the BBC
£15.69£18.99 (-17%)
‘Ruskin Park is so much more than a memoir. It is tribute to an individual woman and a whole generation and class.’ – Justin Webb, The Sunday Times
‘Ruskin Park is Rory Cellan-Jones’s touching tribute to both his parents, but particularly to the mother he came to know more fully from the letters she left behind’ – Daily Mail
‘A captivating family detective story and a poignant social history of Britain.’ – Observer
***
Can we ever really know the truth about our parents? From the popular journalist, podcaster and tweeter about his rescue dog #SophiefromRomania comes a moving memoir in search of the truth behind his isolated childhood and absent father.
Rory Cellan-Jones knew he was the child of a brief love affair between two unmarried BBC employees. But until his mother died and he found a previously unknown file labelled ‘For Rory’ he had no idea of their beginnings or ending, and why his peculiarly isolated childhood had so tested the bond between him and his mother. ‘For Rory,’ his mother had written on the file ‘in the hope that it will help him understand how it really was …’
This is a compelling account of what Rory uncovered in the papers, letters and diaries; a relationship between two colleagues (two romantics) and the restrictive forces of post-war respectability and prejudice that ended it. It is also an evocation of the progressive, centrifugal force at the centre of all their lives – the BBC itself.
Both tender and troubling, the drama moves from wartime radio broadcasts, to the glamour of 1950s television studios, to the golden era of BBC drama. His father may have directed The Forsyte Saga and Rory may have watched him from the corridors, but he would never actually meet him until much later in adulthood. Until then Rory’s life was bound to the one-bedroom flat he shared with his mother in Ruskin Park …
‘I loved this highly evocative, unpretentious memoir. It’s a small-scale BBC drama in itself.’ – The Times
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Additional information
| Publisher | September Publishing (7 Sept. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 320 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1914613430 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1914613432 |
| Dimensions | 14.22 x 3.05 x 21.84 cm |
by David F.
I loved this book, the social history, the strong will of Sylvia and the sense of family from all. Stephen, however was the person who stood out for me, he seemed a wonderful supportive son and brother. The sense of determination that Sylvia must have possessed at a time when society would have been horribly unsupportive of her is enviable. What a woman. Rory writes and reminisces beautifully. I sobbed throughout the final parts of the book. Thank you Rory Cellan-Jones for sharing.
by K. Lamyman
A good read. I don’t get much chance to read a book, this you can dip in and out of and no trouble picking up the thread again. Very descriptive of the times thru Rory’s young eyes and how his views change as his knowledge and understanding of his mother develop. Pleased I bought it.
by Jax F
A fascinating & compelling read of a very personal story which I’d been very much looking forward to. There can’t be many people who find such a comprehensively documented history of their family & a social record of the time which reveal so many heartbreaks & surprises. Thank you for sharing your story with us Rory.
I’m sure in the fullness of time, the beautiful Sophie from Romania will provide enough material for her own fascinating tale (or should that be tail?!).
by Daphne the WonderCat
What a brilliant, heartfelt book – a real labour of love by the former BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan-Jones. After his difficult mother died in the 90s, it fell to Rory to clear out the small council flat she had brought up him and his older half-brother, and in so doing he discovered that she had kept pretty much every letter she’d ever received, and had also kept carbon copies of her side of all those correspondences.
Rory knew he was the result of an affair between his mother Sylvia and a then up-and-coming young drama producer at the BBC where they both worked, but it wasn’t until he started going through the enormous archives Sylvia left to him that he understood the love story that led to his birth, and the fraught, at times heartbreaking story of why he didn’t meet his father, drama director James Cellan Jones, during his childhood.
What he learned about both his parents as he finally delved into the archive some 25 years after his mother’s death has given him a much greater, deeply compassionate and loving understanding of who his mother was – and who he is.
Rory is a terrific storyteller, and bringing that skill to the story of his indomitable mother and her battles against the mores of the postwar years and her decision to keep Rory rather than have him adopted, makes this already compelling story an absolute belter of a book.
by Amazon Customer
This is a gripping and wonderfully moving account which engaged me from the first page to the last. It combines humour with beautifully written storytelling about the twists and turns of an unconventional and challenging life. It’s a delightful tribute to the human spirit. I strongly recommend it.
by Carole Buttress
Loved this book. Highly recommended
by Caroline
I was fully intending to wait until the paperback was published to read this book. However, after reading the fascinating extracts from Rory’s Mother’s letters on Twitter and hearing Rory speak movingly about the book, I could not wait anymore and splashed out on the hardback.I’m so glad I did as It surpassed my high expectations.
What an utterly wonderful book which is so beautifully written. The reader is taken on a journey back to Rory’s childhood which is intermixed with his mother Sylvia’s past. I was left with admiration for Rory’s half brother, Stephen and for Sylvia. As for his grandparents…. Tears were shed both at the end of the book (The last two lines- oh goodness me!) and the end of the of “A letter from Jim”.
by Cheryl
This is an engrossing story which will resonate long after the final page is turned. A seemingly unique insight into the pre-war BBC, it is also of broader social and historical interest as it charts the life and career of Cellan-Jones’s mother whilst juggling motherhood and the prevalent gender expectations of the era. Sensitive and empathetic whilst avoiding sentimentality, it is also a tale of families and secrets. For those who follow #sophiefromromania, she is also mentioned on the inside cover.