The house in Tyne Street

In the course of 27 short chapters, Linda Fortune draws a vivid picture of a place, time and lifestyle that no longer exist. This book never gets bogged down in politics. Instead, it succeeds in recreating a specific time and specific place with its focus firstly on one family in particular, warts and all. A bigger picture also emerges, that of a whole community: people - teachers, shop-keepers, barbers, entertainers - and specific places - movie-houses, shops, streets and lanes - still recalled by many who lived there. Eighteen black and white photographs by photographers such as Cloete Breytenbach, J.H. Greshoff, George Hallet and Noor Ebrahim, and family snapshots from Linda's own collection, adds to the value of The House in Tyne Street as a recreation of and testament to the District.