Born in 1906 as Catherine Ann McMullen, Cookson was one of the best-loved novelists of British history, and her books are still read to this day and enjoyed by her vigilant fan base. Her novels were inspired by her upbringing in South Shields, Tyneside and would become the foundations on which films of the same titles would be built later on in time, as well as TV shows and stage musicals.
After a troubled childhood and being raised by her grandparents, resulting in her believing the woman who was her biological mother to be her sister, Cookson left school aged thirteen. She had a small job as a laundry assistant for a while, until moving into another establishment to run the laundry service. She bought a large Victorian home with her savings and then took in lodgers to generate an income, and in 1940 aged 34 years old, she married her only husband, Tom Cookson. They were married until her death in 1998, aged a highly respectable 91 years.
Cookson's first novel, Kate Hannigan, was the first in the Kate Hannigan series and released in 1950. Like most of Cookson's novels to come, it told of the poverty of England coupled with a love that defied all odds in a time which hope and love was hard to come by. Said to be partly autobiographical, Kate Hannigan was Cookson's first foot on the ladder of showing the world how talented she was as a storyteller.
Cookson weaves a tale of painful truth and love, and reading her work makes it no wonder how The Fifteen Streets caught the eye of talented director David Wheatley and released an adaptation for the big screen in 1989.
This article only describes a fraction of Cookson's works. They are all worth a read, and they will all no doubt stay with you for a long time.
Modern literature has a lot to thank Cookson for, in the sense that she has no doubt inspired some of the great books we have today. Cookson was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1985 and then given the higher award of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1993, becoming known as Dame Catherine Cookson. She received an honorary degree in 1984 from the University of Newcastle for her inspirational work in the field of literature.
To read a Cookson novel is to enjoy a Cookson novel. A true treasure to the nation, Cookson deserves all of the accolades she's received over the years.