The Story

The search for Shirley’s identity is a central part of the narrative of Gone Shopping. Her relationship with her mother may have been the driving force that caused her to steal wherever she (could some might argue she was stealing love). Perhaps she was fearless – escaping from Aylesbury Prison so her first child didn’t bear the stigma of being born in jail – because from the age of seven she really had no other choice but to take courage and survive any way she could.

Another theme in the book, which is contemporary for today’s readers, is her relationship with men, because Shirley often had to play down her own power in order not to diminish theirs. She said Adgie, her bank robber brother, was the only real man in her life, because he made her feel understood and really loved her, despite what she did to risk that respect. His premature death on the way home from Brighton (he was decapitated when his sports car crashed) left her devastated not least because her partner Chrissie, and the other men she had children with, were not able to make her feel supported and loved in the way that Adgie had done so.

Despite the recurring rows with Chrissie – the good-looking market trader she lived with in Hoxton for over 20 years – she did manage to have seven children (most of them his) and to maintain and provide for all of them through the cash she accumulated from her trade as a professional thief. Before and after Chrissie, there were numerous lovers but Shirley said none of them really filled her up – kids and clothes were the main thing in her life - and her car.

< back | next >