Louisa smiled as she ran a loving hand over the crisp, cotton bedsheets that she had just placed in her bottom drawer. In the weeks since her sweetheart Mattie had been away fighting in France, she had been working hard, adding to her collection of household items so that when he came home, they would be ready to start married life together...
***
1915: As war continues to rage across the Channel, the families of the Somerset village of Street can no longer avoid its long shadow.
Workers in the Clarks shoe factory, at the heart of the village, have left for the army in droves, and news from the Front seems to grow darker by the day.
When life-long friends Louisa, Jeannie and Kate receive the news they had been fearing, all hope seems lost. And Louisa’s world will be rocked further when she makes another discovery, one that will see her cast out by her family, changing her life forever.
Kate and Jeannie are determined to be strong for their friend, but each of them has their own problems to bear, and when Jeannie’s beloved brother Lucas enlists, she fears history is about to repeat itself.
Can the Clarks factory girls help each other through the darkest days and keep hope alive?
***
Before reading this, I sneaked in a quick read of the first book in this series, The Clarks Factory Girls at War. If you would like to read my review of this book, you can find it by clicking here.
Whilst I found this second book in the series a wonderful opportunity to renew my acquaintance with the three main characters, Louisa, Jeannie and Kate, this book would work perfectly well as a standalone novel.
We find the three friends approximately a year on from the beginning of the first book. The realisation has passed that the war will not soon be over. Their optimism of the war being over by Christmas is well past fruition and we find the friends with new responsibilities while sweethearts and brothers are away at war.
What I love about these characters is the inner strength that they demonstrate. Indeed, they are only discovering their personal bravery for themselves, and it is delightful to be accompanying them on this journey. In different ways they each have challenges to face, and they accomplish this with the strong support of one another.
The book exhibits much about how the role of women differs from today. It is difficult to speak of the specifics of their challenges without creating huge spoilers. Suffice to say that they face potentially life changing situations where we observe them changing from girls to women. They each are so brave in their own way.
The consistent aspect in their lives is created by their employment at the Clarks Shoe Factory. Most of the village work at the factory in one role or another. The author brings this aspect of their lives to life on the page, and it is evident that she has done her research very well.
This book continues the story extremely well. It is equally as exciting as the first and I highly recommend it.
ISBN: 978 1835330302
Publisher: Boldwood Books
Formats: e-book, audio, hardback and paperback (currently available on Kindle Unlimited)
No. of Pages: 344 (paperback)
About the Author:
May Ellis has been a legal executive, registered childminder, professional fund–raiser and a teacher.
She has travelled the world, including trekking in mountains, deserts and the Great Wall of China, as well as helping build a house in Thailand. She went to university in her forties and gained a first class degree and an MA while still working full–time.
Her first book, a contemporary romance, was published in 2014. Since then she has had five more novels published, including another romance and a YA time travel adventure. The last three are gritty dramas set in the 1960s/70s published by Darkstroke Books.
She lives in Somerset, within sight of Glastonbury Tor, volunteering at her local library and for the Alfred Gillett Trust (custodians of the Clark’s archives). Her current series, based on the factory workers at Clark’s Shoes was inspired by her move to the area and her love of social history.
(ARC and all media courtesy of Rachel's Random Resources)
(all opinions are my own)
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