Dame Catherine Cookson (1906-1998) was a British author whose books were inspired by her deprived youth in South Shields in the North East of England. During her writing career, she published 103 novels, making her one of the most prolific British novelists of all time. 'The Fifteen Streets' (1952) was her second novel.

Cookson started writing as a form of therapy to combat depression. Her first novel, 'Kate Hannigan', was published in 1950. Cookson claimed her novels were historical fiction, but readers have mislabelled them as romance.

'The Fifteen Streets' is a tale of class division set in the docklands of Newcastle at the beginning of the 20th century. The main character, John O'Brien, is a dockworker, who falls in love with Mary Llewellyn, the daughter of the man who owns the docks. Trouble occurs when John is accused of getting local girl, Nancy, pregnant. Despite his innocence, all his neighbours turn against him.

Many of Cookson's novels have been adapted for film and television. Starring Sean Bean and Owen Teale, 'The Fifteen Streets' was the first of Cookson's novels to be released as a film. It was nominated for an Emmy award in 1990.

Cookson was created an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1985. This was elevated to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1993 (DBE). For 17 years, she was the most borrowed author from public libraries in the UK until losing the top spot to Jacqueline Wilson in 2002.

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