Summoned by the bell, she had come toiling up the steep stairs to Lady Symmonds' top-floor rooms, in the stately but ramshackle apartments next door to the orphanage, the windows overlooking green fields and the wild blue expanse of Carbis Bay, St Ives. She had half expected to be sent on some errand of mercy for one of the orphans or maybe asked for her help with an embroidery project, since needlework was her forte.
Instead, she had been told, after nearly twenty-five years as Babs' live-in companion, that she was surplus to requirements.
***
Can the bonds of motherhood give them the strength they’ll need to get through the war?
St Ives, Spring 1943.
After having given up her baby at seventeen, Sonya is inspired by her work at an orphanage to discover what happened to her daughter twenty-five years ago. Reunited, they struggle to bond whilst braving the war together.
Nurse Lily has returned to St Ives to finish training as a midwife. But when old flame Tristan is brought in wounded, she must put the past firmly to bed in order to care for him.
And working at Tristan’s convalescent home, Mary longs for the romance she reads of in her novels. But her overprotective mother is making that more difficult at every turn…
In times of war, the Cornish Girls can rely on one another to make it through. But can they lean on the bonds of motherhood for support too?
***
This is the second book which I have read that is set in Cornwall in as many weeks. It is definely making me feel that Cornwall should be on my holiday shortlist this year.
Set during World War II, the story portrays the experiences of Sonya, Lily and Mary. They were each well fleshed out characters and it was a pleasure getting to know them. Each woman faces challenges in her life, not simply because it was wartime but because life brings with it their individual experiences and complications.
It is a very character driven novel and even the secondary characters offer much to the book. Partway through there is a scene where Sonya and Yvonne visit Sonya's parents. It was well written and ensured that the character of her father will remain with me. It is the authors use of these secondary characters which really move the story along and allow the main characters to shine.
There are many themes running through this heartfelt book; friendship, family, motherhood and love. It was interesting to observe how differently society viewed a woman's role compared to now. It also highlighted other societal attitudes that have developed significantly during the intervening years.
This book is the fourth in the Cornish Girls series although it works perfectly well as a stand alone novel. However, it has sufficiently enticed me to want to read it's predecessors and I have already ordered a copy of the first book in the series, Wartime with the Cornish Girls.
ISBN: 978 0008525170
Publisher: Avon
Formats: e-book, audio and paperback
No. of Pages: 384 (paperback)
Betty Walker lives in Cornwall with her large family, where she enjoys gardening and coastal walks. She loves discovering curious historical facts, and devotes much time to investigating her family tree. She also writes bestselling contemporary thrillers as Jane Holland.
Betty Walker also writes under the names Jane Holland, Hannah Coates and Beth Good.
(book courtesy of the publisher)
(author photo and info courtesy of LBA)
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