Inspiring Women Magazine November 2023

feature
Inspiring Reads: The
Black Madonna of Derby
Joanna Czechowska, AWA
Vienna, was born in Derby,
England to a Polish father and
English mother. Her father
escaped Poland in 1939 and
eventually made his way to the
UK in 1943, where he joined the
RAF as a pilot. Joanna studied
history at London University
and completed a Masters in the
History of London. She worked
as a magazine journalist for
35 years in London and wrote
short stories and two novels,
published in 2008 and 2012.
After spells living in Australia
and the USA with her husband
and two children, she now lives
in Vienna.
Ashort summary of the book
The Black Madonna of Derby is set in the 1960s and
1970s and tells the story of three generations of a
Polish immigrant family living in a small English town.
The 69-year-old grandmother, proud and patriotic,
wishes to return to her Polish homeland so that, when
the time comes, she can be buried with her husband,
the enigmatic Prince who died 40 years earlier. Her
daughter Helena is settled in her new culture but
carries the trauma of her experiences from the
Second World War. The three grandchildren, who
were all born and brought up in the UK, take different
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