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Writer publishes first book at 80
First novel for true crime writer George - at age 80
A Liverpool writer has published his first novel at the grand old age of 80. SOPHIE MOORE reports
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An acclaimed writer from Liverpool has published his first novel at 80-yearsold - just months after leaving hospital following a frightening battle with covid.
George Skelly, from New Brighton, began writing his first novel, The Most Familiar Face In the World, back in the early 1970s.
After 50 years, the novel was finally ready to be published Christmas 2020, but following an admission into hospital after being diagnosed with coronavirus, his family "weren't sure he'd live to see the day" that it hit the shelves.
John Skelly, George’s son commented on his dad’s battle with Covid and said: “We almost just lost him to covid. Thanks to the amazing staff at Wirral University Teaching Hospital, he pulled through. He now has published his latest book. We weren’t sure he’d live to see the day that it was published.”
John added: “The novel is 50 years in the making, and almost a casualty of covid. Now the old man’s book finally sees the light of day!”
George’s novel serves up an uncompromisingly authentic slice of post-war Liverpool as a backdrop to young protagonist, Sheridan.
On why it has taken so long to publish, George said: "Its genesis dates back to the early 1970s, but life, family and other projects led to it spending almost 50 years percolating gently on the backburner."
As a student, he studied at the University of Liverpool, then went on to have a career in social work. He then changed careers after an early retirement to focus on his passion for 'researching and writing miscarriages of justice.
Speaking about the novel, George said: "Young Sheridan is an exceptional kid in a cruel, confusing world. He is astute beyond his tender years, but trapped in a hard-knock childhood, amidst the grit of post-war Liverpool, where the grown-ups make no sense. Brutal yet kind, tragic yet funny, happy yet sad. He feels for them. He feels for everything!"
He added: “It’s based on six years in the life of a boy, Sheridan Connolly, from the post-war Liverpool slums, who despite his physical surroundings of hardship and brutality is an introspective, sensitive child.
George added: “That amount of time however places a useful distance between present day and the vivid and gritty world of postwar Liverpool that the novel depicts so authentically as a coruscating backdrop to this timeless tale about self and the universal human need of having something to look forward to.”
Despite this being his first work of fiction, George has already published two influential true crime books, The Cameo Conspiracy and Murderers or Martyrs.
His research on the former being key in the exoneration of an innocent man who had been hanged 53 years previously for a crime he didn’t commit.
Murderers or Martyrs concerns another investigation led by the now-discredited late Liverpool detective Herbert (Bert) Balmer, which resulted in two 20-year-old Mancunian burglars, Edward (Teddy) Devlin and Alfred (Alfie) Burns, being hanged at Walton Prison on April 25, 1952.
• The Most Familiar Face In the World by George Skelly is available to buy now at: shorturl. at/jqwyU
George Skelly and John Skelly
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