This book accompanies the largest exhibition to date of photographs by American academic and documentary filmmaker Janet Mendelsohn. Part of a 'photo-essay' Mendelsohn made as a student at the University of Birmingham during 1967-69, the photographs depict everyday life in the inner-city district of Balsall Heath, focusing in particular on a sex worker, referred to as Kathleen, with whom Mendelsohn formed a close relationship. By using photography as a 'tool for cultural analysis', she provides a unique insight into a transforming community, shaped by increasing immigration from the Caribbean and South Asia, and affected by ongoing poverty-related issues. Published on the occasion of the exhibition Janet Mendelsohn: Varna Road, at Ikon Gallery, 27 January -- 3 April 2016.