The Sisters' War
A WARTIME SUMMER
Left homeless after the Exeter Blitz, May Huxford leaves the ruined city to take a job as housekeeper to farmer George Beer. At Fair Maids Farm, May quickly realises her job is going to require more than just cleaning and cooking; if Fair Maids Farm doesn’t meet their food production targets, The Ministry of Agriculture will evict the owner and bring in someone new. But George refuses to heed their warnings. With only two reluctant Land Girls to help, May receives unexpected guidance from Dan, a neighbouring farmer, whose kindness gets tongues wagging in the village.
But secrets and sabotage lie ahead – will May be able to hold her own in an unfamiliar world, let alone go on to secure the future of the farm?
A WARTIME WELCOME
Homeless after the Exeter Blitz, Clemmie Huxford throws herself into volunteering with the WVS - the very organisation that helped her and her sisters when they had nowhere to go. When the centre organiser spots her natural flair, painfully-shy Clemmie is drafted to set up one of the British Welcome Clubs aimed at easing American troops’ integration into English life. There, she meets Squadron Leader Dunning who, shot down in the London Blitz, has been left partially paralysed.
As friendship turns to something more, amid the danger and chaos of war, Clemmie faces an impossible decision – sacrifice her dreams of motherhood, or lose the man she’s learning to love.
THESE WARTIME DREAMS
After Pearl’s home is destroyed in the Exeter Blitz, so too are her dreams of performing on stage. Finding work as a bus conductress instead, a chance encounter revives her hopes once more, and soon she is singing for the troops alongside her new friend, Ivy.
When agent Gordon Gold approaches them, Ivy is keen to sign with him and sets off for the bright lights of London. But Pearl is wary of the charming man and decides to stay, watching with a heavy heart as her friend departs.
A year later, while Pearl is struck mute by an illness, Ivy returns – and is quick to seize the chance to fill Pearl’s place, singing with the band. Once more, Pearl’s dreams are threatened. Will she ever become a star?
Click on the link below to hear me discussing These Wartime Dreams with Emma Marston at The Voice radio
Recording courtesy of The Voice (North Devon)
Rosie Meddon - Wartime book.mp3