The Tree that Grew in St. James Square

The recollections of Louisa Mowatt Mackenzie (Jenkins) of her growing-up years in a working-class neighbourhood of Edinburgh, Scotland, constitutes a valuable addition to the literature of the era. Though disguising her heroine as Susie, "The Tree That Grew in St. James Square is clearly autobiographical. Susie takes up her story in two parts--her childhood years (1932-1937), and her adolescent years (1938-1942). Her photographic memory draws the reader into the joys and sorrows of street games, school dances, processions, Easter egg rolls, the death of her brother, her first love. Hers was a way of life experienced by thousands of Scots in those difficult times. How her large family coped with hardship but shared each other's trouble and triumphs is an absorbing tale deserving a permanent place in the history of Edinburgh, and indeed anywhere. --Lindsey Wilger Williams, "Charlotte Sun Herald