Leonora Galloway erased a part of her life in an attempt to give her son and daughter a stable childhood. But in doing so, she withheld a part of herself that kept a distance between them. So after her husband dies, she takes her daughter, Penelope, to Paris and sits down to tell the tale of her life and, inextricably entwined, that of her father's life.
The mother and daughter begin their journey together with the explanation that Leonora was actually illegitimate. Her "father" died in battle 11 months before she was born. It was a fact that his aristocratic family never let Leonora forget as she grew up in their household.
The mysteries that encircle Leonora's life pull the reader into this book and keep you firmly rooted in the story. Robert Goddard's elegant writing style is never better displayed than in this mysterious story. You care about these people and live in this world. What a beautiful skill Goddard has. An excellent book! (This book has been out of print for over decade.)
Six months after her husband's sudden death, Leonora
Galloway sets off for a holiday in Paris with her daughter
Penelope. At last the time has come when secrets can be
shared and explanations begin...
Their journey starts with an unscheduled stop at the
imposing Thiepval Memorial to the dead of the Battle of the
Somme near Amiens. Amongst those commemorated is Leonora's
father. The date of his death is recorded and 30th
April, 1916. But Leonora wasn't born until 14th March
1917.
Penelope at once supposes a simple wartime illegitimacy as
the clue to her mother's unhappy childhood and the family's
sundered connections with her aristocratic heritage, about
which she has always known so little.
But nothing could have prepared her, or the reader, for the
extraordinary story that is about to unfold.
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