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The Clarks Factory Girls At War by May Ellis

Fabulous New Series

The Clarks Factory Girls At Work by May Ellis is a fabulous new series which focuses on the Clarks family in Street, Somerset during 1914 and 1915.

We follow three young girls who work at the factory. They come from three very different families but are firm friends who support each other.

The plight of women was very different a hundred years ago. Women were definitely inferior to men. They earnt less, were not in positions of responsibility and were supposed to submit to men. There were snippets of talk about suffragettes. A young girl has to hand her wages over to her father until she is twenty one.

The plight of a widow with young children was precarious as they lived hand to mouth.

In another household, the father is cruel. He drinks his wages away and is handy with his fists.

We drop in on discussions about the various denominations. The Clarks family were Quakers as were many of the community but some were Church Of England. The community was divided, no one wanting inter-marriage between the denominations. It seems alien to the modern reader.

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Aunt Violet’s Locket by Kristin Harper

A Lasting Legacy

Aunt Violet’s Locket by Kristin Harper is a most delightful contemporary novel. It is the sixth book in the Dune Island series but can be read as a stand-alone.

An unexpected inheritance sees the lead character travel to a remote island in order to claim an isolated property. It is everything she doesn’t want, but a summer spent preparing to sell sees more changes than in just the building.

Links to the past are unearthed as a character seeks out the truth behind the stories of her late ninety nine year old great aunt whom she never met. It has all been smoke and mirrors as there was so much more to her than the alleged wilting wallflower.

Secrets, stories and lies from World War II have been buried but are unearthed unexpectedly. This causes a dilemma – what to do with the knowledge?

Within the novel society has put an emphasis on women marrying young and not ending up on the shelf! Women are to be homemakers. Much is made of a showy engagement and wedding, without much thought to the actual marriage.

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The War Orphan by Anna Stuart

Every Drop Of Love

The War Orphan by Anna Stuart is a powerful historical novel that I just couldn’t put down. It is grounded in fact and the third book in the Women Of War series but can be read as a stand-alone.

The action is set from January 1945 in Auschwitz. The war is in its dying embers but still the Nazis were incredibly cruel as they separated mothers from their children for the death marches. The mother/daughter bond was strong. “Wherever you are, I’ll find you.” After the war ended, both searched relentlessly for the other.

There was so much loss. The war tore families apart – some members managing to flee Nazi Germany, others were not so lucky. Until told differently, everyone kept hope alive.

We follow the war orphans from Poland to Windermere and to Surrey. Here, new family units formed as they only had each other. We see that dreams of employment bloomed as there was the chance for new beginnings.

We must never forget where we come from. “It was also vital that they kept hold of a sense of their heritage.” We need to know our roots. We want to pass on our family history and learn to “live for those left behind.”

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The Last Day In Paris by Suzanne Kelman

Keep The Fires Burning

The Last Day In Paris by Suzanne Kelman is a marvellous dual timeline novel that I loved. It is the first book in The Paris Sisters series which promises to be fantastic.

The novel is set in present day and Paris during World War II. We ‘see’ the Nazis collecting and collating works of art to be shipped back to Germany. These treasures are more than their canvases and their worth, they are the very heart of the French people. Art speaks to souls. We witness the lengths some will go in order to protect it.

There are those who want to preserve the art for future generations to enjoy. In contrast, we see black marketeers who merely want the art for personal wealth. These unscrupulous people come in some surprising forms.

We follow a family of three generations. They are strongly bonded with each other and also have a bond with a painting done by their father. This is a microcosm for the value placed on art by the French people as a whole.

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