Book Review: The Boy Who Saved Billy Bremner by Nicholas Dean

The successful Don Revie era at Leeds United has been the subject of many books down the years, with the debut novel from Nicholas Dean, The Boy Who Saved Billy Bremner, a new addition to the list.

In this offering the actual events of the 1973/74 First Division season and the Elland Road clubs tilt at the title provide a backdrop and one of the storylines within the book. And whilst the incredible run of 29 games unbeaten at the start of that campaign for Leeds is factually followed within the plot, the other football narrative, the engagement of central character, 14 year old Phillip Knott, with letters to real-life Leeds United captain Billy Bremner, is fictional.

With football very much a backdrop, readers are taken back to 1973 with the focus on the Knott family and their life in Coventry on a rundown housing estate. For people of a certain age, the descriptions of life and attitudes of the early 1970s will be a real trip down memory lane and Dean provides a convincing setting for his characters to inhabit.

Phillip is the central character, and has two siblings, an older sister and a younger brother, all with their own struggles in what is for the most part a challenging home environment. Their mother suffers from depression, which is not helped by her husband whose drinking bouts and violence are a constant dark threat waiting to explode at any moment. However, that is not to say that the book is all doom and gloom and there are moments for humour as well as tenderness and closeness within the Knott family and Phillip’s circle of friends.

The trials and tribulations of the family and Phillip himself, find their way into the letters to the Leeds skipper. And it is an interesting device used by Dean as it allows reflection on events both within the fictional life of the fanatical Leeds fan Phillip and that of Bremner and his Leeds United teammates as they embark on their unbeaten run.

With Leeds first defeat coming in their thirtieth league fixture at Stoke City, and their undefeated record gone, so the book similarly ends. There is a some resolution in the final pages but it left this reader wondering what comes next for Phillip and his family. Indeed is there a second helping continuing the story to come? However, this may be difficult given the struggles Dean had in getting this book to market.

The author was open in his interview with FBR about the struggles of getting his book published and feeling that there was no other option but to go down the independent route. As a result he was honest in accepting that this has resulted in the book, “lacking a professional touch and (containing) a few errors.” Unfortunately one of the curses of self-publication.

This book at 532 pages is a mammoth tome and but for a smaller font would undoubtedly have been pushing possibly 650 pages. The reality is that for all the wonderful detail and description contained within its pages, the professional services of a proof-reader and editor would clearly have benefited the text, especially in the reduction in the overuse of similes. However, this isn’t a criticism of the book but is a further example that independent writers can be victims of their own circumstances when not supported by a publisher and the services they commsnd.

Despite all this, there is much to admire about The Boy Who Saved Billy Bremner, and for this reader Dean has achieved what he set out to do in , “people liking the book”.

(Publisher: Independently published. July 2022. Paperback: 532 pages)

 

Buy the book here: The Boy Who Saved Billy Bremner

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Interview with Nicholas Dean author of ‘The Boy Who Saved Billy Bremner’.

The Boy Who Saved Billy Bremner is the debut novel from Nicholas Dean. Ahead of FBR’s review of the book we caught up with the author to get the lowdown on this intriguingly titled book.

FBR: What was inspiration for book?

Nicholas Dean (ND): I guess, it came from my own upbringing. Obviously the streets and other locations in the book are both real and this extends to a number of the people such as some of the teachers and the owner of the newsagents. Also part of the inspiration and driving forces behind the book were my age and my children. As I have grown older, I have found myself reminiscing more about my childhood and where I grew up and as my children have asked about me growing up, the more the desire and need to capture those days and the people also grew. I have had the actual idea for the main storyline for a while but other plots seemed to develop and take on a life of their own, some of the characters too, such as ‘Snowy Vest’ for example.

FBR: Given that you had said the book has aspects of your childhood within the storylines, how much of the book is biographical?

ND: There are clearly certain biographical aspects and events within the book. Like they say, a writer writes about what they know about. The school friends and the group of kids on the estate are a mishmash of real people, including myself and some events such as the game in the French lesson and the snowball fight are based on real events, but the main narratives and majority of characters are fictitious

FBR: What is your first football memory and who do you support?

ND: As anyone might guess from the title of the book, I am a Leeds United supporter and how I became to support the team from Elland Road is rather similar to the central character Phillip Knott,  in the book, only a few years later, around when the book is set. My family were from other areas of the UK – dad was from North East (Middlesbrough) and my mum from Herefordshire, so I did not have a direct connection to Coventry, although I was born there. My earliest football memories are the 1972 and 1973 FA Cup finals and of course Leeds United’s 29 game unbeaten run in the 1973-74 season. A run which I feel does not get the recognition it deserves. Another massive footballing memory from that period is watching the 1974 World Cup held in West Germany on the TV.

FBR: The Leeds and Scotland skipper Billy Bremner features not only in the title of the book but in its pages itself. Did you actually write to him, and if not how did the idea come about?

ND: The letter writing is all fictional. I remember the unbeaten run and the eventual loss at Stoke vividly for different reasons and had always had an idea to try and write about it in some way. How the eventual idea formed? To be honest, I am not sure. I guess, it was one of those eureka moments when I thought wouldn’t it be a good idea if I did this. Then I had to think about the issues Philip could be dealing with in order to write his letters.

FBR: How did you start writing?

I have always scribbled things here and there from a young age and the idea for and execution of my first novel was many years in the making and changed many times. I think when I was younger I had a fear of failure and a hang up around class. Working class people like me did not write books. I have always wanted to try it but lacked the confidence. Now, as I have already mentioned, age has played a part and pushed me to give it a try.

FBR: Stylistically, what writers influence you?

I don’t really think any particular writers influenced me or my writing style. I have to confess I do not read as much as I would like, my job and my family take up so much time and when I have time I tend to write rather than read. This is my second attempt at a novel; I haven’t done anything with the first one yet. I am currently reworking it.

FBR: Finally, how hard and what are the pitfalls for getting a book independently published?

I know the book lacks a professional touch and has a few errors but self-publishing was the only option left to me. I have become somewhat frustrated about agents and the way they operate. I have had many positive rejections, so to speak. Agencies seem to only want to take on guaranteed profit making books from the right type of person with the right profile. No matter how good my work might be, I don’t think I fit the required profile. I obviously make very little from the book on Amazon, 57p a sale to be exact but it is not about that. It is about people liking the book. I have had some great feedback and have sold over 300 copies which for me is great.

FBR: Nicholas, thank you for your time. Good luck with the book sales.

 

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