Literally hundreds of non-fiction books have been written about The Beatles and about the man who formed The Beatles, John Lennon. And quite a few fictional books about Lennon have been created to amuse fans. But Jude Southerland Kessler's Shoulda Been There and Shivering Inside are the first books ever to tell the Lennon saga with carefully researched footnotes and detailed, informational endnotes, while using a fiction format to keep the reader turning the page. These are the first two of a nine-book series. Ms Kessler is currently writing the third, She Loves You.
Researched for over 20 years with seven trips to Liverpool and countless interviews with John Lennon's friends, early band members, first manager, and club D.J.'s, Shoulda Been There traces Lennon's life from 1940 to December 1961 (when The Beatles signed with Brian Epstein), and Shivering Inside picks up in 1961 and recaptures John and his Beatles rise to British fame in 1963. But it is not just a story about the birth and explosion of the band. It is the tale of a lost child whose parents, for one reason or another, pushed him aside for other pursuits and whose life was a desperate search for the "answers." It is the story of all children for whom someone "shoulda been there," and of a young man of infinite popularity yet "shivering inside."
All of the scholarly, non-fiction ingredients are present: an encyclopedia of real characters complete with bios of each, an index and thorough bibliography, and a glossary of Scouse (Liverpool) terms. It is, as David Haber of BeatlesNews.com wrote, "something special." Bill Harry called Kessler's unique approach of weaving data into a compelling story "factional."
Jude Kessler has written for the Kansas City Beatlefan newsletter and has addressed schools, clubs, and conventions across the United States on The Beatles. She received two bachelor's degrees from NSU in Louisiana, and her master's degree in English from the University of Maryland and taught composition at Troy State University, Alabama.
