Ridley Road

"Ridley Road" by Jo Bloom is the beautiful love story behind the BBC One drama series of the same name. 

With “Ridley Road” Jo Bloom is picturing Soho in the early 1960’s as we know it: full of jazz, cigarettes and caffeine with a touch of a provocative attitude. 

Young Vivien Epstein is a Jewish hairdresser from Manchester. Claiming that she needs a new start she moves to London. But secretly she is desperate to find Jack Fox, her old romance. 

In the search for Jack she confronts the fight against resurgent fascism in the East End of London where Jewish people are forced to the streets around Ridley Road. Her new life in London suddenly becomes a fine line between life, death, love and secrets. 

Jo Bloom’s debut novel “Ridley Road” is a heart-breaking love novel about the contrast between the colorful sixties and the facism. The book was so great that it was adapted for BBC One and aired in October 2021.