Pie and Mash down the Roman Road: 100 years of love and life in one East End market

by Melanie McGrath

SHORTLISTED FOR THE HWA NON-FICTION CROWN, THE ANDRÉ SIMON FOOD BOOK AWARDS AND THE FORTNUM & MASON BOOK AWARDS'Filled with hearty goodness and packed together with care, this will go down a treat' Evening Standard | 'Rich and compelling' Spectator | 'Extraordinary and very moving' Julian Fellowes | 'Beautifully written, carefully researched, wonderfully told' Danny WallaceThe fascinating history of an iconic East End institution from the bestselling author of Silvertown, Melanie McGrath. G Kelly's Pie and Mash has been run by the same family in the Roman Road in Bow for nearly a hundred years; an East End institution and the still point of a turning world. Outside its windows the Roman Road has seen an extraordinary revolution - from women's liberation and industrialisation to wars and immigration - and yet at its heart it remains one of the last traditional market roads of London.Pie and Mash down the Roman Road is the biography of that shop and of the people - customers, suppliers, employees, owners - who passed through it, and continue to do so. Through vivid tales of ordinary lives the book tells the extraordinary story of the community living around the oldest trading route in Britain, and the true heart of the East End.'Draws you right into the heart of the vibrant East End community' Rosie Hendry'Pacey and breath-taking . . . I loved every word' Carol Rivers

Genres: London, Nonfiction

323 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 22, 2018

About the author

Aka M.J. McGrath

Melanie McGrath was born in Essex. Her first book, Motel Nirvana, won the John Llewelyn-Rhys/Mail on Sunday award for Best New British and Commonwealth Writer under 35. She is also the author of Hard, Soft and Wet: The Digital Generation Comes of Age, and Silvertown: An East End Family Memoir. She writes for The Guardian, The Independent, The Times, The Evening Standard and Conde Nast Traveller. She is a regular broadcaster on radio, has been a television producer and presenter. She lives and works in London.

Reviews

[Andi Gaywood · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading both 'Silvertown' and 'Hopping' by Melanie McGrath I just had to read this. I was born in 1964 in East Ham and love the old history of the East End, it's communities, the diversity and the old way of life. I was lucky enough to come at the tail end of the aftermath of the war damage. But I still had a glimpse of some of the old ways such as milkmen, coalmen, old money, penny sweets, rag and bone men, knife sharpener man etc.

I was not allowed out as a kid too much and therefore never had some of the adventures that others used to have. Therefore heating the stories of people that occur in Melanie McGrath's books enthrall me and make me want more from a time I was more suited to.

Pie and mash is an old East End tradition and I never got to experience it much, probably had less than 6 portions in all my life. So to hear the about Kelly's and the popularity of the dish and its place in East End history is truly beautiful.

As a vegan (28 years) I will not get a chance to take that nostalgic trip down memory lane and sample a good old traditional pie and mash. However I did recently have a vegan pie, mash and liquor in a shop in Leigh-on-sea. Melanie shows how things do have to change as that is life. But something's can remain such as pie and mash but with a different edge to it.

The book is beautifully written, as all her books I have read are, and I am always deeply immersed in her characters and what happened to them. The history of the East End is part of my heritage and one that I would like to know more about. I do miss certain aspects of the East End and feel that the modern, corporate mentality of life does not allow for communities to thrive and come together.

I look forward to when M. McGrath writes again about this subject as it is inspiring and heart warming.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

A really dull and disappointing read. I am really interested in the history of this part of London and was looking forward to learning more about the lives of people in this area. However I just didn’t connect with the writing. It was a bit repetitive and lacked any real depth.

[Stevie Turner · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave up on this one, as I couldn't get into it. I spent half my childhood 'down the Roman', but frankly I didn't find the book very interesting. I think it was a bit too well researched, which made it rather stodgy in my opinion.

[Verity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the way McGrath writes, and although much of the history in this book is well-known, she offers a new perspective on events such as the Blitz by approaching it through people's experiences and a detailed account of home, work and everyday life. The book covers 100 years and subtly demonstrates how trade, family tradition and politics have changed the East End over time.

[Mark Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that my father should have written. I grew up listening to his stories of the old East End of London and this book captures all of that - and so much more.
This is relatable history.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been fascinated by the East End of London and Pie/eel and mash shops that a particular to that area.

When I was asked by Nudge books to review this I was really pleased to learn about the close knit community, stories and of course world war 2- the Queen mother after Buckingham palace was bombed famously said "now I can look the East End in the eye" sorry but this was nothing compared to what the east end faced.

the author has taken the pie and mash shop a road in the East End and woven in history, times that have long since gone, culture and some colourful characters.

The history is interesting, through the poverty and Charles Booth, through the first world war and second world war and effects of being bombed night after night, buildings and streets long gone with people too it is about love and loss, hop picking, the Krays and social changes in the 1950s and 1960s. Putting people in high rise flats took the very soul out of people and a way of life.

the Pie and Mash shop thank fully is still there although has gone through changes it is wonderful that although temporarily closed it is undergoing restorations to its formal glory and get rid of the 1980s fittings. Thankfully we recognise that restoration is important and to keep some of history for future generations.My bucket list contains wanting to visit a pie and mash shop in Bethnal Green so maybe next time I am in London I will pay a visit, and re live this interesting place.

[Paterson Loarn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lip-smacking serving of East London life on a plate. Melanie McGrath has harnessed the iconic pie & mash culture of the Roman Road to link many fascinating aspects of working-class life over a period of about a hundred years, up to the present. This book celebrates the diverse communities and families that continue to populate the East End of London, and their roots among those who walked the same roads in the past. We learn that in 1901, mothers were still warning their daughters against working at Bryant & May, although ‘phossy jaw’ no longer existed. There is an account of a boy who, forgotten by the evacuation authorities, spent WW2 as ‘king’ of Fish Island in Hackney, fishing and scavenging. The effect of Right to Buy is recorded, along with the experiences of the pioneer Windrush generation. The book is written in a brilliant, evocative style that illustrates and informs more effectively than most visual images. I must disagree with those reviewers who have said they would like more pictures. A pie is a pie, and jellied eels are not photogenic!

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book about live in the East End of London over time. Using personal anecdotes, census reports and others recollections it weaves a tale which focuses around a cafe in the Roman Road Market. Focusing on pie and mash along with eels it is a tale of food and immigrants. Eels migrate thousands of miles and this discusses areas such as docklands which historically were known for traders and sailors from places such as the West Indies who were based around Canning town. Other immigrants came into the area such as the Jewish community, Irish and modern immigrants from Bangladesh. There has been problems throughout the decades from fascism and attacks on the communities from pre-world war 2 to more recent times in the 1970s and 1980s with racist attacks on Bengali's and the opposition to this from the anti Nazi league.

Looking at the modern day East End with gentrification and aspects such as a sour dough cheese toasty costing £6 it shows how the communities feel under threat.

[Schopflin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this. McGrath speaks with the voices of her interviewees which conveys an intimate feeling of what life was like. Authenticity aside, it is compelling. As a collection of stories, it has its problems; details are repeated and it's sometimes hard to keep up with all the families and their stories. I also don't really like the historic present but I can't deny how vivid a picture she paints.

[✰matthew✰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

ultimately i found this book super interesting but incredibly dense to read, some details and phrases are repeated multiple times. the research that has gone into this book is clearly huge but it isn’t always carried off very well, repetition is common and some separate stories blend into each other.

[Annchovy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was really looking forward to this book. Love food history but this is so badly written. Author has no idea how to write an engaging piece of social history. A waste of time.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read this as it was a book club book. I would never have picked it up but found it fascinating.