Coming to England

Story

When Floella Benjamin first came to England from Trinidad, she hadn't seen her parents for fifteen months. At first, her joy at being reunited with her mother overcomes the shock of her new surroundings in London. However, when she starts school and is treated unkindly by others, she soon realizes that the only way to survive is to be twice as good as everyone else.

Why we chose it

Coming to England was one of the first books with black main characters published in the UK and one of the first books to tell the story of the children whose families moved from the West Indies to England in the 1960s.

Where it came from

Floella Karen Yunies Benjamin (born 23 September 1949) is a Trinidadian-British actress, author, television presenter, singer, business woman and politician who is part of the ‘Windrush’ generation. She was inspired to write Coming to England after her children asked her, 'What was it like when you were little, mum?'

Where it went next

When Coming to England was first published, critics called it a classic and said it would be on bookshelves forever. It was a recommended book on the National Curriculum (1999) and put on the National Schools’ Reading List (2000) and also used by BBC Television to teach cultural diversity and creative writing in school. An adaptation of the story, by Floella’s production company, went on to achieve success and receive a Royal Television Society (RTS) Award in 2004.

Associated stories

In 2004 a sequel, Arms of Britannia, was published. Floella Benjamin wrote a number of other books for children including My Two Grannies, My Two Grandads, Sea of Tears and Skip Across the Ocean a collection of nursery rhymes from around the world.

Floella Benjamin is also a familiar face on children’s television, appearing in Play School, Playaway and Bedtime Stories and creating Treehouse, Hullaballoo and Jamboree.