Secret Street

Secret Street

One street in a royal town. Twelve people. Twelve secrets.

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About ‘Secret Street’

Secret Street is a fiction-based-on-fact book of linked stories.
The Blurb:

Known to all but herself as “Minty”, royal-obsessed Araminta Cavendish pretends to be posh. Eighty-two, single and lonely, she plans to make friends and become her street’s queen bee by organising a Platinum Jubilee street party. But when a last-minute knock on the door threatens to spoil everything, she discovers her neighbours have secrets of their own.

Secret Street recounts the tale of Araminta as she sets out on a quest to find friends. Each friend she makes tells her their secret story, and each story gives Araminta a gift of knowledge that helps her learn the only way to find peace – and friendship – is to be herself.

Secret Street is a fiction-based-on-fact novel. It represents the culmination of the author  –  who has a background in mental health nursing  –  spending four decades living and working with traumatised people, observing the relationship between adverse life experience and human connectivity. It blows apart the stereotype of comfortable middle-class England, personified by the infamous fictional letter-writer to The Times, “Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells”. The true stories woven into the narrative have psychosocial themes such as abortion, addiction, adoption, eating disorder, learning disability, sexual assault, and asylum seeking. These serious themes are approached with both gentleness and energy, creating light as well as shade.

Secret Street offers a discourse on the relationships between stigma, friendship, class, and identity, and will prompt juicy discussions at book clubs. These life-changing stories will stay with you.

Tom Davis, St. James:

‘…a charming, personal, and at times challenging, exploration of the complex lives of people living in Tunbridge Wells…Laugh-out-loud funny at times, and painfully sad at others.’

Sonja Wright, Paddock Wood:

‘I felt as if I was part of the story…Every single character can teach us something…I hope it touches other readers’ hearts, as it did mine.’

Tom Mortley, Broadwater:

”Secret Street’ gets under your skin.’

Sarah Mitchell, Ferndale:

‘Moving and inclusive, this life-affirming read invites us to share journeys through personal hardships, compassion, and ultimately mutual acceptance. Nothing is off-limits as human tragedies hidden behind closed doors are laid bare. The heartwarming empathy we feel towards these people – who could so easily be you and me – is a credit to the author.’    

“Malinda”, Goodreads 5/5* review:

‘The construct of this book is original. The reader is taken on a guided tour of the inhabitants of a street in Royal Tunbridge Wells by “Araminta”, an elderly resident…
…I hate to use the expression “page turner” as it smacks of cheap thrillers, but this book certainly quickly grabs the reader’s attention, and keeps it right through to the end where even the “posh” Araminta has a secret which she reveals. Louisa Campbell’s prose flows easily without being cliché ridden; the reader is accompanied by a knowledgeable guide at a gentle jog, rather than pulled along at a break-neck speed by an author who wants to reach the finishing post as fast as possible. This book would be a welcome present for most age groups.’

Mick Canning, Goodreads 5/5* review:

‘…In this well-written and sympathetic book, Louisa introduces us to characters who have suffered at the hands of both others and themselves, characters who are flawed and vulnerable, just like all of us. All of the stories are true stories…which gives the book an extra powerful dynamic.’

Where to buy ‘Secret Street’

Secret Street is available in paperback, hardback, eBook and Kindle.

Links to buy online:

Or support a wonderful, independent bookshop!

  • Station Books, at the top of Tunbridge Wells High Street, has ‘Secret Street’ in stock at £12 for a paperback, and £16 a hardback.

“It is my heartfelt hope that readers of ‘Secret Street’ will learn something helpful for their own lives as they discover these life-changing stories.”

Louisa Campbell

Louisa Campbell, ‘Secret Street’ author

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