This is the story of two women in the Second World War. From very
different backgrounds, Lorna and her lodger find themselves
becoming close friends. With friendship comes a reappraisal of
themselves and their lives and by the end of the novel each has
grown and changed ready to meet new challenges. Lorna and William
live at Ladybower, an attractive property which Lorna has
inherited. So far Lorna has deferred to her much older husband, but
now he has gone to war Lorna starts to make decisions for herself.
The first of these is to take in Ness, the Liverpudlian land-girl
who has come to work on a neighbouring farm. Her upfront, feisty
manner encourages Lorna to defy William when he tells her to get
rid of both the lodger and the hens she has installed on their
beautiful lawn. As the Battle of Britain develops more serious
aspects of war emerge. Ness is perpetually worried about her family
in Liverpool and the reader is reminded that few working-class
families had a telephone at home. Mick Hardie, Ness's co-worker, is
a conscientious objector and regarded with suspicion by many. He is
neither a coward nor a weakling and his high sense of morality
attracts Ness. However, she is reluctant to enter a relationship
with any man, for reasons that are gradually revealed as the novel
progresses. Lorna's part-time work as a postwoman brings her into
contact with Ewan Macmillan, who is temporarily in charge of a
small military hospital where Lorna reads to the soldiers who have
been blinded. They become close but Lorna convinces herself that as
a married woman she is quite safe from any involvement. She is by
now aware that her marriage with William is unsatisfactory but
cannot contemplate any alternative. Unlike Ness she is bound by
convention, and she refuses to acknowledge her feelings for Ewan.
What is attractive about this novel is the way Elgin creates the
relationship between the two young women, one naive and one
experienced. They come to share thoughts and ideas and their spirit
and loyalty shine through the narrative. Other characters are more
stereotypical, focusing the reader on Lorna, Ness and their
predicaments. A sense of mystery pervades the romantic passages,
with a legendary nun haunting the local wood. Enjoy this book on
summer afternoons in the garden, or on the beach. (Kirkus UK)
A captivating tale of forbidden passion and wartime friendship from
the bestselling author of THE WILLOW POOL and ONE SUMMER AT DEER'S
LEAP. It's 1940 and the threat of invasion hangs over Britain. But
in the isolated hamlet of Nun Ainsty it is the arrival of the Army
that turns things turned upside down - especially for two young
women. Lorna Hatherwood, married to a man ten years older, lives a
quiet life. Then she volunteers to read to blind soldiers at the
nearby Manor and everything changes - because of a handsome medical
officer named Ewan MacMillan. But their relationship could spell
disaster... Then there is Ness Nightingale. A Land Girl billeted
with Lorna, Ness is trying to forget a disastrous love affair. But
when she meets Mick Hardie, a conscientious objector, she has to
remind herself that she has vowed never to trust a man again ...
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