Category: Historical Fiction

Title: The Forgotten Home Child
Author: Genevieve Graham
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback, Ebook
Release Date: March 3, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

The Home for Unwanted Girls meets Orphan Train in this unforgettable novel about a young girl caught in a scheme to rid England’s streets of destitute children, and the lengths she will go to find her way home—based on the true story of the British Home Children.

2018

At ninety-seven years old, Winnifred Ellis knows she doesn’t have much time left, and it is almost a relief to realize that once she is gone, the truth about her shameful past will die with her. But when her great-grandson Jamie, the spitting image of her dear late husband, asks about his family tree, Winnifred can’t lie any longer, even if it means breaking a promise she made so long ago…

1936

Fifteen-year-old Winny has never known a real home. After running away from an abusive stepfather, she falls in with Mary, Jack, and their ragtag group of friends roaming the streets of Liverpool. When the children are caught stealing food, Winny and Mary are left in Dr. Barnardo’s Barkingside Home for Girls, a local home for orphans and forgotten children found in the city’s slums. At Barkingside, Winny learns she will soon join other boys and girls in a faraway place called Canada, where families and better lives await them.

But Winny’s hopes are dashed when she is separated from her friends and sent to live with a family that has no use for another daughter. Instead, they have paid for an indentured servant to work on their farm. Faced with this harsh new reality, Winny clings to the belief that she will someday find her friends again.

Inspired by true events, The Forgotten Home Child is a moving and heartbreaking novel about place, belonging, and family—the one we make for ourselves and its enduring power to draw us home.

Review:

I loved this historical fiction novel!

The story follows Winny and Jack throughout two time periods. The first is set in the present, where Winny is telling her story to her granddaughter. The other time period is when Winny and Jack were sent to Canada from England as teenagers in the 1930s. Winny and Jack, along with some other friends, get separated into different homes and have to face some difficult times.

It’s unfortunate that we aren’t taught this part of Canada’s history in school. An estimated 12% of the Canadian population are descendants of the British home children. I recently found out that my own great-great-grandmother was one of them, though she came to Canada in the late 19th century, before this book is set. In the book, Winny’s great-grandson wonders why we aren’t taught about this in school. We aren’t taught much history in school, but this is an important part we should all learn.

This story was heartbreaking at times, but those scenes were quickly followed by optimism. I really enjoyed this story!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Have you read The Forgotten Home Child? What did you think of it?

Title: Wolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell #1)
Author: Hilary Mantel
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: July 1, 2010
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

England, the 1520s. Henry VIII is on the throne, but has no heir. Cardinal Wolsey is his chief advisor, charged with securing the divorce the pope refuses to grant. Into this atmosphere of distrust and need comes Thomas Cromwell, first as Wolsey’s clerk, and later his successor.

Cromwell is a wholly original man: the son of a brutal blacksmith, a political genius, a briber, a charmer, a bully, a man with a delicate and deadly expertise in manipulating people and events. Ruthless in pursuit of his own interests, he is as ambitious in his wider politics as he is for himself. His reforming agenda is carried out in the grip of a self-interested parliament and a king who fluctuates between romantic passions and murderous rages.

From one of our finest living writers, Wolf Hall is that very rare thing: a truly great English novel, one that explores the intersection of individual psychology and wider politics. With a vast array of characters, and richly overflowing with incident, it peels back history to show us Tudor England as a half-made society, moulding itself with great passion and suffering and courage. 

Review:

I love reading about English history. I especially like books written about Henry VIII and his wives. This book was great!

Since I love reading about this time period, I was familiar with a lot of the story. There were some interesting parts that I didn’t know, though. Whenever I read historical fiction, I find myself looking up things that happen in the story to find out if they really happened. There weren’t a lot of records kept for that time period, since it was hundreds of years ago, so I’m sure most of it is imagined, but it made a great story.

I found the writing difficult to follow at the beginning. Some of the dialogue was written without quotation marks, so it wasn’t easy to always recognize when someone was speaking. Another thing that was confusing was that the main character, Thomas Cromwell, was only referred to as “he” in the story, not by his name. Since most of the characters were men, it was confusing to figure out who exactly was talking sometimes.

I enjoyed this book! I’m looking forward to finishing the series.

What to read next:

Other Books in the Series:

• Bring Up the Bodies
• The Mirror and the Light

Have you read Wolf Hall? What did you think of it?

Title: The Other Windsor Girl: A Novel of Princess Margaret, Royal Rebel
Author: Georgie Black
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: William Morrow
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: November 5, 2019
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

If you love The Crown, then this is the book for you!

Diana, Catherine, Meghan…glamorous Princess Margaret outdid them all. Springing into post-World War II society, and quite naughty and haughty, she lived in a whirlwind of fame and notoriety. Georgie Blalock captures the fascinating, fast-living princess and her “set” as seen through the eyes of one of her ladies-in-waiting. 

In dreary, post-war Britain, Princess Margaret captivates everyone with her cutting edge fashion sense and biting quips. The royal socialite, cigarette holder in one hand, cocktail in the other, sparkles in the company of her glittering entourage of wealthy young aristocrats known as the Margaret Set, but her outrageous lifestyle conflicts with her place as Queen Elizabeth’s younger sister. Can she be a dutiful princess while still dazzling the world on her own terms?

Post-war Britain isn’t glamorous for The Honorable Vera Strathmore. While writing scandalous novels, she dreams of living and working in New York, and regaining the happiness she enjoyed before her fiancé was killed in the war. A chance meeting with the Princess changes her life forever. Vera amuses the princess, and what—or who—Margaret wants, Margaret gets. Soon, Vera gains Margaret’s confidence and the privileged position of second lady-in-waiting to the Princess. Thrust into the center of Margaret’s social and royal life, Vera watches the princess’s love affair with dashing Captain Peter Townsend unfurl.

But while Margaret, as a member of the Royal Family, is not free to act on her desires, Vera soon wants the freedom to pursue her own dreams. As time and Princess Margaret’s scandalous behavior progress, both women will be forced to choose between status, duty, and love…

Review:

This was an exciting story about a rebellious princess.

Long before Will and Kate and Harry and Meghan were born, Princess Margaret was the royal who made all the headlines. She was the Queen’s younger sister, who liked to party. She caused many scandals, such as dating her father’s equerry and marrying a photographer.

This book was told from the perspective of a fictional lady-in-waiting for Princess Margaret. Vera was the daughter of a lord, and she wrote romance novels under a pseudonym. She quickly learned how to please the Princess, and worked for her through some of the most important periods of her life.

This story shows what Princess Margaret’s life was like, through the eyes of someone who worked with her. I was familiar with many parts of the story. However, there were also some scandalous parts, which were shocking, especially for that time period.

I really enjoyed this story.

What to read next:

Have you read The Other Windsor Girl: A Novel of Princess Margaret, Royal Rebel? What did you think of it?

Title: The Whispers of War
Author: Julia Kelly
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: January 14, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

The start of World War II looms over three friends who struggle to remain loyal as one of them is threatened with internment by the British government, from the author of the “sweeping, stirring” (Kristin Harmel, internationally bestselling author of The Room on Rue Amélie ) The Light Over London. 

In August of 1939, as Britain watches the headlines in fear of another devastating war with Germany, three childhood friends must choose between friendship or country. Erstwhile socialite Nora is determined to find her place in the Home Office’s Air Raid Precautions Department, matchmaker Hazel tries to mask two closely guarded secrets with irrepressible optimism, and German expat Marie worries that she and her family might face imprisonment in an internment camp if war is declared. When Germany invades Poland and tensions on the home front rise, Marie is labeled an enemy alien, and the three friends find themselves fighting together to keep her free at any cost.

Featuring Julia Kelly’s signature “intricate, tender, and convincing” (Publishers Weekly) prose, TheWhispers of War is a moving and unforgettable tale of the power of friendship and womanhood in the midst of conflict.

Review:

I really enjoyed this historical novel set during World War II.

This story had alternating narratives. Samantha was in the present, where her grandmother has just died. She travels to London to meet her grandmother’s 103-year-old childhood friend to learn more about her. The other narratives followed Marie, Samantha’s grandmother, and her friends Nora and Hazel during World War II.

I don’t usually like novels set during World War II, but I couldn’t put this one down. The story was quite suspenseful, because Marie was a German girl living in England in the 1930s. She was terrified of the war starting. Even though I knew that the war would happen and that Marie would be in danger, the story was still suspenseful.

The three friends had very different stories, even though they had grown up together. They had different backgrounds and completely different life experiences after school, yet their friendship kept them together. They each had their strengths which help one another. Their stories also overlap in unusual ways.

This is a great new novel!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Have you read The Whispers of War? What did you think of it?

Title: The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding
Author: Jennifer Robson
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: William Morrow
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: December 31, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

From the internationally bestselling author of Somewhere in France comes an enthralling historical novel about one of the most famous wedding dresses of the twentieth century—Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown—and the fascinating women who made it.

“Millions will welcome this joyous event as a flash of color on the long road we have to travel.”—Sir Winston Churchill on the news of Princess Elizabeth’s forthcoming wedding

London, 1947: Besieged by the harshest winter in living memory, burdened by onerous shortages and rationing, the people of postwar Britain are enduring lives of quiet desperation despite their nation’s recent victory. Among them are Ann Hughes and Miriam Dassin, embroiderers at the famed Mayfair fashion house of Norman Hartnell. Together they forge an unlikely friendship, but their nascent hopes for a brighter future are tested when they are chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime honor: taking part in the creation of Princess Elizabeth’s wedding gown.

Toronto, 2016: More than half a century later, Heather Mackenzie seeks to unravel the mystery of a set of embroidered flowers, a legacy from her late grandmother. How did her beloved Nan, a woman who never spoke of her old life in Britain, come to possess the priceless embroideries that so closely resemble the motifs on the stunning gown worn by Queen Elizabeth II at her wedding almost seventy years before? And what was her Nan’s connection to the celebrated textile artist and holocaust survivor Miriam Dassin?

With The Gown, Jennifer Robson takes us inside the workrooms where one of the most famous wedding gowns in history was created. Balancing behind-the-scenes details with a sweeping portrait of a society left reeling by the calamitous costs of victory, she introduces readers to three unforgettable heroines, their points of view alternating and intersecting throughout its pages, whose lives are woven together by the pain of survival, the bonds of friendship, and the redemptive power of love. 

Review:

This was a fascinating story about the creation of Queen Elizabeth’s wedding gown.

There was an exceptional amount of research done to create this book. The description of the way the dress was embroidered was very detailed, so I felt like was there. There were also some fun moments, such as when there was a story “leaked” to the press, but it was completely wrong.

The narrative alternated between Ann and Miriam in 1947, and Heather in 2016. I could relate to Heather’s story, because she lived in Toronto. I could picture the places she mentioned. I could also imagine the locations in London that were described. I loved the dueling narratives. It gave two different perspectives on the royal wedding, from the people who were there to the people who were curious about the dress in the future.

I learned so much from this story. I loved it!

What to read next:

Have you read The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Family? What did you think of it?