John Francis O'Neill's Time-Twisting Tale is Set in Putney
Man finds himself transported back to 1976
A visualisation of Putney High Street in the seventies
December 5, 2025
When Shay revisits the haunts of his childhood at the beginning of John Francis O'Neill's new novel In His Day, he is slow to pick up on clues that all is not as it should be. Old style car registration plates, an excessive amount of dog poo, signs from the London Electricity Board and the lack of a metal fence surrounding the technology college lead to a gathering awareness that somehow he has returned to Putney in 1976.
Local readers will find much to recognise in the new literary-SF crossover novel which is set across familiar streets including Putney High Street and Upper Richmond Road, the book offers a deeply personal journey through time, memory, and regret.
The story follows Shay, a disillusioned middle-aged man who has written farewell notes and arranged his affairs, who finds himself inexplicably transported back to the seventies. As he revisits his own past, he's struck by the sights and sounds of a vanished era: metal bumpers, tax discs, cigarettes in every hand. Then comes the jolt—he meets himself as a twelve-year-old boy.
What follows is a gripping and emotionally charged attempt to rewrite the past. Shay, haunted by the trauma of his family's eviction which saw him uprooted from a comfortable existence in Putney to a sink estate and the long shadow it cast over his life, seizes the chance to steer Young Shay toward a better future. Immersed in mid-seventies culture, he becomes both mentor and manipulator, determined to undo the damage that shaped him.
Putney is not just a backdrop but a psychological anchor. Shay's memories of St Michael's School, where he was once a pupil, and the surrounding streets are vivid and emotionally charged.
An extract from the novel recently appeared in SFX magazine.
In His Day is available on Amazon in both hard copy and eBook versions.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |