Family Drama / Romance
WWII
England
“War rages, but
the women and children of Liverpool’s Dr Barnado’s Home cannot give up hope. An
Orphan’s War is a gripping saga about love and loss on the Home Front.”
Liverpool, 1940. Young Maxine Grey is
widowed when Johnny, her sweetheart from the days of their childhood, is killed
in action. For her, life seems over, but then she takes up nursing in London
where she meets surgeon Edwin Blake, but he is not the man she thinks he is. When
the Blitz hits London Maxine returns to Liverpool, with a complication that was
more than she bargained for. She starts a new career at the orphanage in the
hope of finding the comfort she needs to carry on with her life. One little
boy, Peter, in particular seems in need of care and help; this little boy’s plight
and story created a very emotional read. I recommend a box of tissues to hand.
It was also pleasant to meet up again with June from Ms Green’s previous novel,
An Orphan in the Snow. I do like it
when authors bring in little snippets of past, much-liked characters- it gives a novel that extra feel of reality.
Memorable characters, a well written,
plausible plot and very good descriptions of the time and place. The scenes and
details of Dr Barnardos was especially interesting as the plight of orphans is
rarely considered when we think of World War Two. We know of the Blitz, the
fighting abroad, the convoy ships but often forget the ordinary people surviving
day-to-day ‘back home’.
This was an easy, pleasant read, which I
enjoyed while sitting in a deckchair in a shady spot in my garden, iced tea and
custard creams to hand.
There could not have been a better way to
while away a sunny Sunday afternoon.
© Molly Chapple
Another excellent tale from Molly Green. Brava!
ReplyDelete