I first came to know and love author Lauren Willig through her Pink Carnation historical romances with a heavy Napoleonic era spy/mystery influence. While the Pink Carnation books are filled with charm, Willig has pivoted to writing historical fiction in a more serious vein, and the results are all one could hope for. BAND OF SISTERS is based on the real-life Smith College Relief Unit. A group of collegiate American women went to France to help rebuild and restore villages that were bombed by the Germans in World War I.

There is lush historical detail in this glorious telling of the brave group of women who intrepidly forged their own path. At the base of all the story components, this is a character study, showing us the hearts of the different young women. The interplay between the women is also engrossing. These are typical young women, with cliques, catty personalities, and the usual spats of young ladies living in close quarters. The backdrop of the ongoing trench warfare around them provides stresses that serve to bring the women closer together.

The Smith College Relief Unit lived in a mostly bombed-out chateau in Grecourt, crammed in just a few army barracks hastily thrown up and are just a few miles from the front line of the Somme. Using this as their base, they assist the numerous villages around them to replant and rebuild. All told, less than 20 women undertake to clothe, feed, and assist more than 2,000 villagers. This is a book about ingenuity, gumption, and incredible bravery. It’s made even more astonishing by the fact that these women had no idea what they were doing at the beginning, but my goodness did they learn rapidly once they were dumped into the crucible of the Somme.

I spent a number of moments with my heart in my throat as the battles heated up. The entire book is riveting. While I’ve mostly moved away from historical fiction these days, a gifted writer like Willig will always bring me to pick up her latest offering. The horrors of war are deftly shown as we watch capable young women navigate both the maturation of their own Relief Unit and the vast relief machinery that they provide. Lauren Willig’s BAND OF SISTERS is a deeply satisfying historical delight.