Tag Archive | Lizzie Lane

A Fond Farewell To The Tobacco Girls by Lizzie Lane

Jul30

Rebuilding

A Fond Farewell For The Tobacco Girls by Lizzie Lane is a marvellous historical novel and the sixth book in The Tobacco Girls series. It can be read as a stand-alone.

The action is set in 1945 as the second world war in Europe has ended but the war in Japan continues until August. We follow lives trying to adjust to peacetime.

War had robbed so many of so much. Men returned, a shadow of their former selves, sometimes with limbs missing, sometimes with altered minds. Some men focused on what they had lost and not what remained. It would take the purity of a child to remind them.

Old soldiers from World War I help to rehabilitate young soldiers from World War II as they bond over a mutual love of flowers. We learn the importance of poppies.

Family is important. Sometimes family is not blood related but heart related.

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Trouble For The Boat Girl by Lizzie Lane

Jun15

Social Injustice

Trouble For The Boat Girl by Lizzie Lane is a marvellous novel looking at the social history of women and the poor. It is set in 1925.

The twenties were a turbulent time. World War I was over but England was hardly a land fit for heroes. The tale follows the boat people whose existence was threatened by the railways. The unions were just emerging and were not popular with the bosses. Work was precarious and poverty was rife. We witness how hard it is to change the attitudes from within. It is laws that are needed in order to make a difference.

We follow two characters from the upper classes who try to bring order and change for the impoverished people. We wonder, do they both really have philanthropy at heart? Or is it just a way to rebel against their family?

Children of the boat people receive very little in the way of education as they are never in one place for that long. We see a female character who wishes to change that. Teaching was seen as a female vocation and there was a choice to be made – teach? Or marry? You could not do both.

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Shameful Secrets On Coronation Close by Lizzie Lane

Apr24

Community Minded

Shameful Secrets On Coronation Close by Lizzie Lane is a delightful book and the second one in the series. It can be read as a stand-alone but I recommend reading book one first to see both story and character progression.

The year is 1937 and the residents of Coronation Close are very much looking forward to the King’s coronation in May, much like we are today. The reader is caught up in the excitement and preparations as the residents celebrate together. They are a close-knit bunch, offering help where it is needed. They share lives but some are hiding secrets.

We see the dreadful effects of shell shock from World War I which still persisted. “Looking at the mud brought back fragments of memories that still haunted him.” Shell shock or PTSD was not understood. It never goes away. We see a character who has hidden his identity since deserting in World War I. He hides behind more than just curtains, as the reader’s heart breaks for this gentle soul.

Other characters have secrets too. Some are kept because to let them out would put lives at risk. Others are kept through guilt and shame although they have nothing to be ashamed of, having been caught up in unwanted action.

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New Neighbours For Coronation Close by Lizzie Lane

Jan8

A Snapshot In Time

New Neighbours For Coronation Close by Lizzie Lane is a marvelous historical novel that I thoroughly enjoyed.

The book is set in Bristol in 1936 and provides a social commentary on the times. We see terrible slum conditions that some find themselves living in. This contrasts with the new council houses. There were waiting lists but once in your house, there were some surprising rules and regulations to follow. Drop-in inspections also happened.

We witness the camaraderie that slum living created. Bonds formed in adversity remained. People shared what little they had, with those who had even less.

Friendships grew up in the council estates but it seemed harder to make them as people didn’t live so closely together.

We see the historical context too with Edward VIII coming to the throne and having to choose duty or love. Oswald Mosely and his blackshirts began their reign of intimidation and terror. And Stanley Baldwin was Prime Minister – this always resonates with me as he was a son of Bewdley, where I live, and there is a lovely statue of him in the town and also a plaque on the house where he was born in High Street.

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