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 THE WAY TO
LONDON show Lucy as an unashamed antiheroine, dismayed only
by being sent back to England on a boat -- which is torpedoed.
Interestingly, the author Alix Rickloff skips over the dynamic event,
going from party to lifeboat in the turn of a page.
Distressed more by the fact of losing her beautiful clothes than having
to live in an England at war, Lucy continues in similar vein, grudging her
time in a cottage on a requisitioned estate and shunning the patients
installed in the big house. Can she redeem herself? Will we ever get to
like or respect her when she clearly neither likes nor respects herself?
This interesting position casts a different light on war living, showing us
someone determined to disparage rather than make do and dig for
victory.
The Cornish seaside town of Newquay, today adored by windsurfers, is
presented in its World War II stoic saltiness. The streets are crowded
with men in khaki, mostly British cadets, so shops and cinemas are
doing a brisk trade. Since the bombing of Pearl Harbor, American GIs
have been appearing among the crowds. Lucy still wants more
excitement, and boards a train for London, hoping to be discovered by
a Hollywood producer rumoured to be staying in the city. A young
evacuee, Bill Smedley from Bethnal Green who wants to return home, is
her companion. As they near the city altered by blackouts and
bombing, Lucy Stanhope starts to experience another side of life.
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. THE WAY TO
LONDON is complex and at times distressing, but richly portrays
the times and characters. Lucy undertakes a journey of the spirit as
well as the physical, emerging changed from her experiences. Travel
with her and appreciate the struggle for victory.
From the author of Secrets of Nanreath Hall comes
this gripping, beautifully written historical fiction novel
set during World War II—the 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.
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