Lucy Stanhope, from a titled family, is one of those young women we'd love to hate. Self-centred, bored and badly behaved, she drinks and flirts her way through Singapore's parties even as war approaches. The first few chapters of Secrets of Nanreath Hall is the previous book by author Alix Rickloff, which does come up in conversation in this book as the home of Lucy's aunt, Lady Boxley. I noted that people are shown putting on a coat to go out, but not putting the strap of their gas mask case over their shoulder as required. We do see a sewing circle, full of village gossip and sympathy or dread as the telegram boy is seen on his rounds. Young women were required to sign up for war work of many sorts, but Lucy gets away with idleness. The real hero of the tale is indomitable young Bill, and we also find another serviceman or two, while the famous producer tells of his nights in the bomb-site city.
From the author of Secrets of Nanreath Hall comes
this gripping, beautifully written historical fiction novel
set during World War IIβthe unforgettable story of a young
woman who must leave Singapore and forge a new life in England.
On the eve of Pearl Harbor, impetuous and overindulged, Lucy
Stanhope, the granddaughter of an earl, is living a life of
pampered luxury in Singapore until one reckless act will
change her life forever.
Exiled to England to stay with an aunt she barely remembers,
Lucy never dreamed that she would be one of the last people
to escape Singapore before war engulfs the entire island,
and that her parents would disappear in the devastating
aftermath. Now grief stricken and all alone, she must cope
with the realities of a grim, battle-weary England.
Then she meets Bill, a young evacuee sent to the country to
escape the Blitz, and in a moment of weakness, Lucy agrees
to help him find his mother in London. The unlikely runaways
take off on a seemingly simple journey across the country,
but her world becomes even more complicated when she is
reunited with an invalided soldier she knew in Singapore.
Now Lucy will be forced to finally confront the choices she
has made if she ever hopes to have the future she yearns for.
No excerpt available.
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