The Fabulous Tale of Fish and Chips

By Helaine Becker

Joseph Malin loves his grandmother’s fried fish, which she makes according to an old family recipe. It’s so good, he thinks he might be able to make some money from it; money that his immigrant Jewish family desperately needs. He takes it into the marketplace of 19th Century London’s East End and calls out to passers-by: ‘Fresh from the ships, Hot n’ tasty fried fish'. Before long, people are coming from far and wide to try the delicious snack.

But his success inspires a rival. Annette, the greengrocer across the street, sees an opportunity to hawk her own family favourite: Belgian-style fried potatoes. “Piping hot chips!”/So crisp, so delish”, she calls. And they’re a hit too.

The competition between Joseph and Annette heats up as they try to outsell each other at the market. And then one day… crash! The two collide. Chips slip. Fish fly. It’s a disaster. Or perhaps not…

This is the playful, fictional account of how the real-life Joseph Malin, a poor Jewish immigrant, invented fish and chips, the iconic British fish and chips dish.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pen and Sword
• Release date: Oct 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781784385712

Helaine Becker

Helaine Becker has written over seventy books. She attended high school in New York before graduating from Duke University. She is married with two sons and is an active swimmer, runner and cyclist, as well as being a compulsive read-aholic. She has an orange belt in karate and is contemplating going for her grapefruit belt. Her award-winning non-fiction includes Counting on Katherine, Worms for Breakfast and Zoobots, and she has written many picture books and young adult novels. She also writes for children’s magazines and for children's television.

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