Ron S King

Ron S King … I was born in Stepney, East-London and placed in a children’s home where I was raised until I was eight years old and then ‘Re-Claimed’ by my parents and taken from the beauty of the Cirencester countryside to the squalid dirt of the East-End. I could not read or write, with a speech impediment and termed as being ‘Backwards’.

I soon learned to understand the rules of the East-End, to escape from a bullying father and un-emotive mother, to hide among the bombed ruins and to learn that violence was a way of getting what I wanted from life. I learned nothing from school but I did learn to steal and get into trouble.

By the time I was fifteen I was in trouble with the police and spent the next fifteen years in institutions, from Approved School to prisons such as Parkhurst and Dartmoor. It was at Parkhurst that I found a thirst for writing and poetry. I studied hard, deciding that when I got out this time I would never come back. I kept my promise to myself and, on leaving Dartmoor, I kept myself on the straight and narrow, working hard as a carpenter and with writing books on all manner of genres.

Having reached the grand old age of seventy-six, I feel I have given back to the world something within my writing and trust the reader will find some warmth within whatever is read.

Below is a synopsis of my key titles ...

Nowhere Street - This is a story about a young boy, brought home from the countryside of Cirencester, to the grey slums of Whitechapel, in London’s East-End. It tells of one year in the boy’s life, around the age of fifteen, back in the mid-to-late 1950’s, describing this time as he fights to get through life. It tells of Prostitutes and Pimps, of the ‘Dives’ around Aldgate at that time and the life within an Approved School, of the fights and bullying which went on as Housemasters turned a blind eye. To a degree, this book is part of the social history of the East-End and is based loosely on my life.

The Lies Men Tell - This book is a continuation of the book ‘NOWHERE STREET’, a story about Frankie Goushen, a young boy’s early life in the cafes and dives of Cable Street in the 50’s, in London’s East-End. Nowhere Street tells of his time spent in an Approved School, of the bullying and spite which went on at the time. This book continues the story of Frankie’s life, when he becomes involved with the Gangsters of the East-End. It depicts the times of the late 50’s and the early 60’s, of his fight to survive and the time spent in the different Prisons, Borstals and Institutions of the day. This is a tough book of hurt and pain, though through the dirt and the grime shines the light of social history and what was seen as normal in those days. While the tale is gritty and the words not for those with a softer disposition, the story can only be told to its strength and much is based on my earlier life.

Within my works you will find books for all purposes, from True-Crime, Astrology to Fairy-Stories. I am a poet and author of many books in various forms and different genres. I suppose, one day after I expire, someone might discover me!

Other than that, the hope is that you discover me whilst I live.

Read well and long...

Ron S King.