Experiencing The Action
Child On the Doorstep by Anne Bennett is a family historical novel that will grip your heart and have your emotions in pieces.
Set in Birmingham in the 1920’s the country is still reeling from the effects of World War I and the Spanish influenza. Many women have lost their men folk. The returning servicemen did not always receive a hero’s welcome. Some were maimed, others had scars that were not so visible. “Many servicemen feel a measure of guilt that they have survived and left comrades… on the battlefield.” PTSD would be diagnosed today but people were less than sympathetic then. Returning servicemen would not necessarily want to relive their experiences – staying silent but suffering nightmares.
War altered the women too. Doing a man’s job strengthened their characters yet still they did not have the vote.