County Durham in the north of England is the setting for the Shipyard Girls series during World War II and now, with the war behind them, the people are looking for happiness. This interesting standalone story THE WIDOW’S CHOICE follows Angie, a miner’s daughter turned steel welder, who marries the liberal young lord of the manor, Quentin Foxton-Clarke. The pair live at Cuthford Manor. This life, with a toddler daughter Connie and Angie’s younger brothers and sisters, is a long way from the shipyards of Sunderland. Sadly, it doesn’t last.
An unexpected tragedy, due to a stable accident, leaves Angie widowed and in shock. Also resident at the manor are Quentin’s parents Lloyd and Evelyn, but the inheritance falls to Angie. This means that enormous death duties have to be paid, and selling up seems like a good option. Angie gives serious consideration to emigrating with her siblings and daughter to Australia. She’s been told the developing land is a classless society, whereas she doesn’t feel she fits in at Cuthford Manor. Not surprisingly, the young people don’t want to leave the first real home they’ve had. But great houses are falling to ruin across Britain, so Angie doesn’t know what else to try. Angie also doubts she will ever love again, but that may change with time.
Other characters include elderly Polish Mrs. Kwiatkowski, who finally gets a Polish person to speak with, as many Poles have been evacuated to Britain. The house staff, not sure where they stand with jobs in peril and the breakdown of class borders, put a real human face on the manor. There are horses and dogs, very much part of the scene, and a few people outside the immediate circle. Apart from finance, much of the tension comes from Angie’s mother-in-law Evelyn, who is a scheming woman, resenting that a daughter of the hard-working class owns the big house.
I like the way that real dilemmas of the day are brought to life – rationing is still in place, villages that aren’t prospering are being struck from a list for council support funds, and of course the cost of inheriting and running the house and land. Angie’s hard-bitten background has provided her with strength and courage, but it takes time before these can emerge from her grief. Readers don’t need to have read the Shipyard Girls series by Nancy Revell, but I’m sure anyone who hasn’t will seek them out to get the full story. Nancy’s many fans will be delighted to follow some of her cast of strong women during peacetime in THE WIDOW’S CHOICE.
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