When the call for soldiers came, the Highland boys signed up for the Lovat Scouts and so did the young and handsome Donald Peter (DP) Gillies. He is a Piper and carries with him a family treasure, his father's pipes that had been played when Bonnie Prince Charlie landed in Glenfinnan in 1745. Now in 1915, DP lies wounded and blinded in an army hospital in Gallipoli after barely surviving a deadly mission and being captured and tortured by the Turks. His only comfort is the tender and gentle touch of a nurse and his warm memories of his home in Ardnish in the Scottish costal Highlands. Home is a harsh, but so starkly beautiful land, that it is said God was born there.
Despite her exhaustion and long hours, Staff Nurse Louise Jones is happy to be one of the Queen Alexandra' s nurses and takes a special interest in the wounded soldier while keeping a special secret from him. The British leadership in Gallipoli has been disastrous, but finally, a retreat has been called. Boarding of the hospital ship is slow and now too late for them to board. Two nurses offer to stay with the remaining badly wounded soldiers. How will they be able to escape when the enemy is so near?
ARDNISH WAS HOME, written by Angus MacDonald, is an amazing tale of resiliency and love in the face of almost insurmountable odds. Despite being almost blind, DP keeps up his companions' spirits by telling almost poetic tales of the highlands and his boyhood adventures while carefully leaving out much of the hardship and travails of his small home community that is slowly dying out as young people need to leave to make a living wage.
Having lived all his life in the Scottish Highlands and served in the Queen's own Highlanders, McDonald well knows many of the stories and history that he skillfully weaves into DP's stories which makes very ARDNISH WAS HOME a very authentic read. As WWI had been a favourite period of mine to read about, I am impressed with MacDonald's ability to vividly bring to life the dangers of World War I including blundering British leadership and the exhausting conditions in which the wartime nurses had to work in this very easy to read novel.
The developing relationship between DP and Louise is enchanting despite all the fears and hardships. I also fully appreciated MacDonald's use of secondary characters, such as Prissie and Charlie, to highlight the wide divide between social classes as well as the high mortality rate of WWI pilots. Letters from Sheena, DP's sister in Cape Breton, also reveal much the difficulties coal miners and their families face while highlighting some of the situation in Canada as an effective part of the story and plot development.
If you are a fan of historical fiction or WWI stories, you are sure to find much to savour in this delightful, yet poignant story. The end is a bit of a shock, so I was very glad its sequel WE FOUGHT FOR ARDNISH is readily available. ARDNISH WAS HOME is a real gem of reading pleasure! Enjoy!
A young piper, Donald Peter (DP) Gillies, brought up in a
remote community in the West Highlands, signs up to join the
famous Lovat Scouts. He and his childhood friend are
destined for the horrors of Gallipoli and the deprivation of
the First World War. After being seriously injured in
action, he encounters Louise, a Queen Alexandra Corps nurse
who cares for him. As DP lies wounded, far from Scotland,
his mind turns to home and he recalls the tales that have
been passed down his family from generation to generation.
The story then follows the pair's desperate escape bid
through enemy territory.
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