This marvelous historical fiction looks at the role of women during the Second World War in Alexandria in North Africa. As the TAPESTRY OF WAR unfolds, an English woman who is editing a local newspaper meets a Scottish naval man when they both aid a wounded Free French soldier.

Fran Trevillian is in Alexandria with her parents who are seen in the best business, diplomatic and military circles -- these all mix at the same few parties, since the British are not entirely popular in Egypt. Fran edits the newspaper and feels responsible for her young staff reporters. She reproduces increasingly worrying war news as Rommel's Afrika Korps moves ever closer to the hot city and shelling drowns out cocktail chatter. Lieutenant Jim MacNeill tells her about his home, the soft light of Scottish islands and the whisky and fishing industries.

Catriona MacNeill, Jim's sister, is nursing at home on Islay, and through her experiences we see the work of nursing war wounded and physical rehabilitation for those who are missing limbs. We also see the changes wrought when America enters the war, the steady inrush of strong GIs to Scots communities bereft of fit young men, the boats and equipment accumulating in Scottish ports until a drive can be made to counter attack the Germans in North Africa.

I read this book over several evenings and always looked forward to diving back in to the characters' lives. A lot of background is included, from the Free French who fought with the Allies to the displaced Polish people after the war, afraid of being ruled by Russia. We also see the social tensions surrounding the new Jewish state in Palestine. Social classes became more porous, women worked outside homes and outside the communities where they had been born. Each side of the tale carries romance, not always fated to end happily, but building a promise of new lives after the war ends. I found myself asking various questions such as, would I have wanted to start a relationship with someone leaving to fight? What war work would I have done? This tale is light on the ration books and strong on the characters, with an overwhelming sense of the massive forces being moved around the continents.

Jane MacKenzie has previously written novels set in French and Spanish Catalonia, such as Mediterranean Summer. She is a British writer who has travelled widely and worked at CERN in Switzerland. I'll look forward to reading more of her works now I have enjoyed TAPESTRY OF WAR.