Molly Weir's Trilogy of Scottish Childhood: Shoes Were for Sundays. Best Foot Forward. A Toe on the Ladder

by Molly Weir

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Genres: Biography, Nonfiction

592 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 1988

About the author

Mary Weir, known as Molly Weir was a Scottish actress and author.

Reviews

[Judy Baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

While waiting for John Tyler's bio from ILL (surely there is one somewhere in the PA library system!) I found this book on my library shelves. My husband says he gave it to me, but I have no recollection. Prior to reading the book, I had never heard of Molly Wier, though I am an avid fan of BBC. I have, as a result of reading this book seen clips of her in a children's show from the 70/80s called Rentaghost. As seen through 21st century eyes, it was pretty bad, but she did comedy sketches for BBC radio in the 40s (ITMA - It's that Man Again, stories about Hitler) which is what really placed her in the spotlight. This trilogy consisted of three of her autobiographical books: Shoes were for Sunday, Best Foot Forward, and A Toe on the Ladder. Molly was one of the "Great Generation", and her writing style describing life in the tenements of Glasgow in the first quarter of the 20th century was very readable, if not a bit Pollyana-ish. I found the first 2 in the series more interesting to read. The third, A Toe on the Ladder, Is her history of breaking into show business, and is her memory of a lot of British actors from the 30s and 40s which made for very dull reading, though it did give a perspective of young adult life during the war years. I doubt I would read any of the triology again, and it sits on a pile ready to donated to the library.
Molly's brother, Tom, is a well-known naturalist.

[Fiona Colley · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favourite "comfort reads". My granny had a copy of "Shoes were for Sunday" which I read countless times when I was quite young. The books reminds me of the stories she used to tell me about her own childhood in Scotland in the '20's. I've read the whole series of Molly's autobiographies but the first two (Shoes were for Sunday and Best Foot Forward) are the best

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms Weir was born in Glasgow in 1910, and my mother in Edinburgh in 1932, so there is some divide between their lives, but Molly Weir's trilogy gave me some sense of what life was like in Scotland's Central Belt in the early 20th century, which was why I read it.

But I thoroughly enjoyed Weir's account of her growing up and young adulthood. The first in the trilogy, "Shoes Were for Sunday", was my favourite.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this growing-up-in-poverty saga (3 books in one). Well written, evocative of Glasgow in the 1910-1940s era, sprinkled with dialect that lends authenticity. Doesn't matter if you've never heard of Molly Weir, as I hadn't. She's a spirited character who, growing up in a loving family and community, overcomes the usual hardships.

[Julie Welsford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not so much the way I remember Scotland: more like the stories my Granny used to tell me :-)

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

I re read this again many years after I first read it and enjoyed it once more. It is a fascinating look at past time in Glasgow