If You Were the Only Girl

Their love crossed the class divide, but will it survive the ravages of war?

When Lucy’s father dies and her family is plunged into poverty, she is forced to take a job in service as a housemaid at Windthorpe House, home to the aristocratic Hetherington’s, who lost three of their four sons in the Great War.
When their only remaining son, Clive, returns home from university, he and Lucy strike up an immediate bond, which only deepens as Lucy becomes indispensible to the family. Clive, much to his family’s alarm, decides to volunteer in the Spanish Civil War, though when he returns, he is injured and full of rage at the hated Fascists.
As Lucy tends his wounds, the two fall in love and Clive is determined that the class difference won’t keep them apart. But Hitler’s troops are gathering and fate has something very different in store for both of them…

Reviews

Praise for If You Were the Only Girl:

‘A powerful read that will have you gripped.’ Yours

Praise for Anne Bennett:

‘[Anne Bennett is] blessed with a vivid imagination and a natural aptitude for writing’ Daily Post

‘An affecting story, populated with rich, beautifully drawn characters.’ Choice

‘The beauty of Anne’s books is that they are about normal people and are sewn through with human emotions which affect us all’ Birmingham Post

About the author

Anne Bennett was born in the Horsefair district of Birmingham. The daughter of Roman Catholic Irish immigrants, she grew up in a tight-knit community. For many years she taught in schools to the north of Birmingham, before an accident put paid to that career. This gave her the chance to write full time. She has four children and five grandchildren. In 2006, after sixteen years in a wheelchair, Anne was able to walk again.