Dunn came to notice with the publication of Up the Junction (1963), a series of short stories set in South London, some of which had already appeared in the New Statesman. The book, awarded the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, was a controversial success at the time for its vibrant, realistic and non-judgemental portrait of its working-class protagonists. It was adapted for television by Dunn, with Ken Loach, for The Wednesday Play series, directed by Loach and broadcast in November 1965. A cinema film version was released in 1968. [5] Her later books are Grandmothers (1991) and My Silver Shoes (1996). Dunn's first play Steaming was produced in 1981 and a television film Every Breath You Take in 1987. She also wrote Sisters, a film script commissioned by the BBC.

After her marriage to Jeremy Sandford in 1957, they gave up their smart Chelsea home and went to live in unfashionable Battersea where they joined and observed the lower strata of society. From this experience he published the play Cathy Come Home in 1963, and she wrote Up the Junction. a b Kate Webb, Something to say for herself: hearing and recording female voices, Times Literary Supplement, 17 July 2018. Chelsea-Girl wagt sich auf die andere Seite der Themse, nach Battersea ins Arbeiterviertel. Es war 1962, in der Vor-Beatles-Ära, und London war noch nicht voll im Swing. Aber zweifellos war man der "feinen Gesellschaft" und ihrer Heucheleien überdrüssig, und so zog die reiche Erbin (Erzählerin wie auch Autorin) die Freiheit des Tons und die Tradition der kleinen Leute vor, die sie in nebeneinander gestellten Szenen beschrieb. Her father did not believe his daughters needed qualifications. As a result, she has never passed an exam in her life. She only learnt to read at nine years old. Dunn said, "Whenever my father saw my appalling spelling, he would laugh. But it wasn't an unkind laugh. In his laugh there was the message, 'You are a completely original person, and everything you do has your own mark on it.' He wanted us all to be unique." [2]a b Brayfield, Celia (25 July 2019). Rebel Writers: The Accidental Feminists: Shelagh Delaney • Edna O'Brien • Lynne Reid-Banks • Charlotte Bingham • Nell Dunn • Virginia Ironside • Margaret Forster. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4482-1751-9. a b Ironside, Virginia (16 May 2003). "Nell Dunn: I never used to think about death, until I was 50. I was never going to die. I was immortal. But now I think about death every day". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022 . Retrieved 17 April 2017. This book contains a series of short stories, many revolving around the lives of young women - Rube, Lily and Sylvie - who work at a sweet factory. The young women are determined to make the most of themselves, and their lives. Life revolves around trying to enjoy themselves, by going dancing and meet young men. Sebastian Groes (21 October 2007). "Nell Dunn". The Literary Encyclopedia . Retrieved 3 February 2009.

The phrase 'up the junction' is London slang for being in deep trouble, as in the American 'Up the creek without a paddle'. It is also, like other lines in the song, a reference to the (at the time) working-class area of Clapham Junction in Battersea in London. Clapham Common—the "windy common" of the first verse—is a popular courting spot.

Three protagonists are followed in Up the Junction, Sylvie, Ruby and Lily, all of whom work at a local sweet factory. The entirety of the book, on the surface of it, looks to be heavily involved with sexual politics, but as one reads on, the fixation upon aesthetics becomes clear. Each of the characters seems to place much emphasis upon their own appearances, interrupting even important conversations to ask if their hair looks nice, or if their new item of clothing suits them. Examples of this can be found in sentences such as this one: ‘[Pauline] was pretty in the dirty cafe; full ashtrays and dripping sauce bottles; sugar-bowls with brown clotted lumps in the white sugar’. Nell Dunn: I never used to think about death, until I was 50". The Independent. 13 October 2013. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022 . Retrieved 31 March 2021. The dialogue is very authentic too, creating consistent characters who are very easy to picture and define. (Although a lot of the speech isn't attributed to any named character, it drifts around the room.) There's a lot of atmosphere created in each story/chapter/vignette, and it feels so real and inviting, while feeling toxic. Gébler, Carlo (2000). Father and I: A Memoir. Little, Brown. ISBN 9781405529341 . Retrieved 31 May 2021.