And We'll All Have Houses

Set in the landscape of 1960s’ working-class Britain, And We’ll All Have Houses tells the story of firstborn James Green who feels betrayed, sinking into a mess of ambivalence and dislocation, by his parents when they move from his hometown in Yorkshire to North Wales. But for James Green, salvation is at hand when the parents decide to migrate to Australia as ‘Ten Pond Poms’. What seems like a change of fortune turns to pain and bitterness when a tragic accident threatens to tear a family apart. Amongst exchanges of lies, candour and disintegration, and being ten thousand miles from home, James must take responsibility for his younger sister, Mary, and emotionally dysfunctional parents who are unable to loosen the shackles of grief. An intricately woven story of deteriorating families and lives is changed forever as James sacrifices his dreams to bring his family to safety. James’s story is one of shattered dreams, false hopes and suffering. Yet through the uncertainly of life, he never renounces his belief in the goodness of humanity and meets his challenges with dignity, which give us hope for the future.

Born into the tight community of a small coal-mining village in south Yorkshire, Lockett grew up greatly influenced by his working-class background and the unevenness of the world around him. He trained as an engineer, but after ten years of dissatisfaction with the repetition of corporate life, he decided to strike out by himself. He moved his young family to Snowdonia and became a mountaineer. He has climbed in Alaska, Nepal, the Rocky Mountains and the Alps. He has travelled widely, often in remote regions of the world. He has lived in Wales and Australia. And We’ll All Have Houses is his debut novel. He is married with two daughters and now lives in Liverpool.