Figure 1.--Naughton was an acclaimed author and playwright, with much his work reflecting on his Bolton boyhood. His book A Dog Called Nelson (1976) tells of a family who lived at the bottom end of his street when he was a boy. The breadwinner is a rag-and-bone-man who likes his pigeons, while the mother has to cope with raising a family of six. If this wasn’t enough there’s a donkey, a cat and dog with one eye called Nelson. The illustration for A Dog Called Nelson was done by Charles Mozely |
Bill Naughton was of Irish descent having been born in Ballyhunis, Ireland. When he was 4 years old, he and his family left there and took up residence in Bolton, England. Naughton was an acclaimed author and playwright, with much his work reflecting on his Bolton boyhood of the 1920s--One Small Boy (1957). His book A Dog Called Nelson (1976) tells of a
family who lived at the bottom end of his street when he was a boy. The breadwinner is a rag-and-bone-man who likes his pigeons, while the mother has to cope with raising a family of six. If this wasn’t enough there’s a donkey, a cat and dog with one eye called Nelson. In The Goalkeeper’s Revenge (1961), Naughton again takes us back to his boyhood
as he offers a collection of stories about the lives of working-class English boys during the 1930s of a childhood, filled with football in the streets, fishing, fighting and school, of growing up and looking for work, and of characters such as Spit Nolan the champion trolley-rider, and Sam Dalt the goalkeeper. The books can be enjoyed by both adults and children. Naughton's plays were more aimed at adults. One mustn’t forget Naughton’s other works such
as Alfie (which mafe Michel Cane a star) and The Family Way which were both adapted from the stage to screen. The illustration for A Dog Called Nelson was done by Charles
Mozely and Dick de Wilde illustrated The Goalkeeper’s Revenge.
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