From the bestselling author of The Jam Factory Girls, comes the second heartfelt installment in Mary Wood's The Guernsey Girls trilogy. War separates them, but it cannot dampen their spirits . . . Spring, 1940. Annie’s new husband Ricky leaves to fight, but she soon discovers battles brewing closer to home. As her sister Janey begins to unravel, only Annie can pick up the pieces – and, with London’s police officers on the front line, she must also step up at work and do her bit for the country. In Guernsey, Olivia finds herself without her husband and son just as Hitler's forces invade the island. Trapped and heartbroken, she faces untold horrors as the Germans tighten their hold on the islanders. How will Annie manage her responsibilities to her family and her country in the thick of the Blitz, while suffering the heartache of not knowing what is happening to her beloved Ricky? And can Olivia survive in Guernsey at the hands of the enemy?
From USA Today bestselling author Gayle Callen comes a fascinating historical novel of three courageous young women who aid a desperate British spy during the German occupation of Guernsey Island in World War II. In 1940, Germany seizes control of Guernsey without a fight - but not without resistance. Innocent young teacher Catherine is forced to house a German officer. Shrewd waitress Betty seeks to elude the persistent Nazi determined to conquer her. And courageous nurse Helen cares for her patients - both British and German - while hiding a British spy in her seaside cottage. Their fight against the injustices being enacted on their island home brings the women, the spy, and their enemies together in one night that will change all of their lives forever. Though none of them could foresee that the battle they fought that night would reach across time to 1997, when the tragic fallout ensnares Helen once more.
The beloved, life-affirming international bestseller which has sold over 5 million copies worldwide - now a major film starring Lily James, Matthew Goode, Jessica Brown Findlay, Tom Courtenay and Penelope Wilton To give them hope she must tell their story It's 1946. The war is over, and Juliet Ashton has writer's block. But when she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams of Guernsey – a total stranger living halfway across the Channel, who has come across her name written in a second hand book – she enters into a correspondence with him, and in time with all the members of the extraordinary Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. Through their letters, the society tell Juliet about life on the island, their love of books – and the long shadow cast by their time living under German occupation. Drawn into their irresistible world, Juliet sets sail for the island, changing her life forever.
From the bestselling author of The Jam Factory Girls, Mary Wood's The Guernsey Girls is the first in a touching new series of friendship found far from home . . . January 1936. After the hard work of being a maid at Wallington Manor in the lead-up to Christmas, Annie is thrilled at the prospect of going home to Bethnal Green. She has missed her family, but the money she earns keeps them all afloat. Olivia is from the island of Guernsey and is visiting her aunt at Wallington Manor. When she has to leave for London, Annie is asked to look after her, and on the train journey a friendship blossoms. A tragic accident sees their friendship become even stronger. A friendship that will see both girls through pain, happiness, marriage and death. A friendship that will see them both united in Guernsey. And this is just the beginning of their incredible journey . . .
Based on a remarkable true story of love and survival. In June 1940, the Channel Islands are occupied by Hitler's forces. Hedy Bercu, a young woman who fled from Vienna to Jersey to escape the Occupation, finds herself once more entrapped by the Nazis, this time with no escape. Concealing her Jewish status, she finds translation work with the German authorities and embarks on secret acts of resistance. Most extraordinary of all, Hedy falls in love with a German lieutenant – a relationship on which her survival comes to depend. 'Combines historical fact with the fictional narrative, and offers a cast rich with multidimensional characters. Readers will be riveted' – Publishers Weekly
From the bestselling author of The Jam Factory Girls, comes the second heartfelt installment in Mary Wood's The Guernsey Girls trilogy. War separates them, but it cannot dampen their spirits . . . Spring, 1940. Annie’s new husband Ricky leaves to fight, but she soon discovers battles brewing closer to home. As her sister Janey begins to unravel, only Annie can pick up the pieces – and, with London’s police officers on the front line, she must also step up at work and do her bit for the country. In Guernsey, Olivia finds herself without her husband and son just as Hitler's forces invade the island. Trapped and heartbroken, she faces untold horrors as the Germans tighten their hold on the islanders. How will Annie manage her responsibilities to her family and her country in the thick of the Blitz, while suffering the heartache of not knowing what is happening to her beloved Ricky? And can Olivia survive in Guernsey at the hands of the enemy?
In June 1940, 17,000 people fled Guernsey to England, including 5,000 school children with their teachers and 500 mothers as 'helpers'. The Channel Islands were occupied on 30 June - the only part of British territory that was occupied by Nazi forces during the Second World War. Most evacuees were transported to smoky industrial towns in Northern England - an environment so very different to their rural island. For five years they made new lives in towns where the local accent was often confusing, but for most, the generosity shown to them was astounding. They received assistance from Canada and the USA - one Guernsey school was 'sponsored' by wealthy Americans such as Eleanor Roosevelt and Hollywood stars. From May 1945, the evacuees began to return home, although many decided to remain in England. Wartime bonds were forged between Guernsey and Northern England that were so strong, they still exist today.
From London to Ireland during the 1920s, this glorious, gripping, and richly textured story takes us to the heart of the remarkable real-life story of the Guinness Girls—perfect for fans of Downton Abbey and Julian Fellowes' Belgravia. Descendants of the founder of the Guinness beer empire, they were the toast of 1920s high society, darlings of the press, with not a care in the world. But Felicity knows better. Sent to live with them as a child because her mother could no longer care for her, she grows up as the sisters’ companion. Both an outsider and a part of the family, she witnesses the complex lives upstairs and downstairs, sees the compromises and sacrifices beneath the glamorous surface. Then, at a party one summer’s evening, something happens that sends shock waves through the entire household. Inspired by a remarkable true story and fascinating real events, The Glorious Guinness Girls is an unforgettable novel about the haves and have-nots, one that will make you ask if where you find yourself is where you truly belong.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A novel to cure your Downton Abbey withdrawal . . . a delightful story about nontraditional romantic relationships, class snobbery and the everybody-knows-everybody complications of living in a small community.”—The Washington Post The bestselling author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand returns with a breathtaking novel of love on the eve of World War I that reaches far beyond the small English town in which it is set. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST AND NPR East Sussex, 1914. It is the end of England’s brief Edwardian summer, and everyone agrees that the weather has never been so beautiful. Hugh Grange, down from his medical studies, is visiting his Aunt Agatha, who lives with her husband in the small, idyllic coastal town of Rye. Agatha’s husband works in the Foreign Office, and she is certain he will ensure that the recent saber rattling over the Balkans won’t come to anything. And Agatha has more immediate concerns; she has just risked her carefully built reputation by pushing for the appointment of a woman to replace the Latin master. When Beatrice Nash arrives with one trunk and several large crates of books, it is clear she is significantly more freethinking—and attractive—than anyone believes a Latin teacher should be. For her part, mourning the death of her beloved father, who has left her penniless, Beatrice simply wants to be left alone to pursue her teaching and writing. But just as Beatrice comes alive to the beauty of the Sussex landscape and the colorful characters who populate Rye, the perfect summer is about to end. For despite Agatha’s reassurances, the unimaginable is coming. Soon the limits of progress, and the old ways, will be tested as this small Sussex town and its inhabitants go to war. Praise for The Summer Before the War “What begins as a study of a small-town society becomes a compelling account of war and its aftermath.”—Woman’s Day “This witty character study of how a small English town reacts to the 1914 arrival of its first female teacher offers gentle humor wrapped in a hauntingly detailed story.”—Good Housekeeping “Perfect for readers in a post–Downton Abbey slump . . . The gently teasing banter between two kindred spirits edging slowly into love is as delicately crafted as a bone-china teacup. . . . More than a high-toned romantic reverie for Anglophiles—though it serves the latter purpose, too.”—The Seattle Times
