The Lost English Girl
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4.4 • 46 Ratings
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
Combining “fast-paced historical fiction with a hint of suspense” (Booklist), this epic saga from Julia Kelly explores love, motherhood, and betrayal set against World War II.
Liverpool, 1935: Raised in a strict Catholic family, Viv Byrne knows what’s expected of her: marry a Catholic man from her working-class neighborhood and have his children. However, when she finds herself pregnant after a fling with Joshua Levinson, a Jewish man with dreams of becoming a famous jazz musician, Viv knows that a swift wedding is the only answer. Her only solace is that marrying Joshua will mean escaping her strict mother’s scrutiny. But when Joshua makes a life-changing choice on their wedding day, Viv is forced once again into the arms of her disapproving family.
Five years later and on the eve of World War II, Viv is faced with the impossible choice to evacuate her young daughter, Maggie, to the countryside. In New York City, Joshua gives up his failing musical career to serve in the Royal Air Force and try to piece together his feelings about the family he left behind. However, tragedy strikes when Viv learns that the countryside safe haven she sent her daughter to wasn’t immune from the horrors of war. It is only years later, with Joshua’s help, that Viv learns the secrets of their shared past and what it will take to put a family back together again.
Telling the harrowing story of England’s many evacuated children, Kelly’s The Lost English Girl “will hook readers from the first page” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In the enticing latest from Kelly (The Last Dance of the Debutante), the lives of two star-crossed lovers are upended during WWII. In 1930s Liverpool, 18-year-old Viv Byrne dreams of expanding her world beyond the restrictions of her Catholic parents and her job at the post office. Viv meets jazz musician Joshua Levinson at a dance hall and gets pregnant after one night with him. Though Joshua is Jewish, her parents reluctantly approve of their marriage. Then, they offer Joshua money to leave her and their unborn child, and he takes off for New York with his sax. Four years later, with Joshua's career flailing and the war looming, he returns to England to enlist in the RAF. Meanwhile, Viv sends her daughter, Maggie, to the countryside to keep her safe, but the hosts' house is bombed. Viv and Joshua reunite, trying find out what happened to Maggie and hoping that somehow she survived the blast. In chapters alternating from Viv's, Joshua's, and Maggie's points of view, Kelly unearths her characters' deepest secrets and emotions. Readers will fall in love with unassuming Viv in particular; when faced with heartbreaking events, she exhibits incredible courage. This will hook readers from the first page.
Customer Reviews
THE LOST ENGLISH GIRL
I loved EVERYTHING about this book. Julia Kelly has fulfilled every expectation I had of this book since I totally loved all her other books. She makes the present disappear as you get lost, deliciously so, in her words and each one of the characters.
Great Book Club Pick!
If you love Historical Fiction, then this is a must read!
Viv comes from a strict Catholic family, while Joshua is Jewish. They meet at a club where he plays the saxophone. Their relationship furthers and unexpectedly they get pregnant, so they are forced to get married. Viv’s parents do not approve and pay him to leave Viv after their wedding. He takes the money because it will give him the opportunity to get his music career off the ground in NYC.
4 years later, children are being evacuated from Liverpool to the countryside when WWll begins. Viv is told by her parents she has to send Maggie or leave and live on her own. She is reassured by her priest, Maggie will be in good hands. Viv is able to visit Maggie, but goes back to work as a postie, in order to afford the train tickets.
When WWII begins, Joshua enlists in the Royal Air Force and goes to war. Will Viv and Joshua eventually reunite? Will Viv eventually be able to reunite with Maggie after the war? Or will tragedy occur that will tear them apart? This story will keep you turning the pages to find out.
This book is written from 3 points of views, Viv, Joshua and Maggie. It gives the reader a perspective of the harsh reality of what the circumstances were and the struggles they endured! A well researched book that gives some insight into Operation Pied Piper and the Jewish/Catholic community in Liverpool, England before, during and after WWII.
What a wonderful story of adversity, hardships, bravery, family, friendships, love, and loss. This story leaves a lasting impression, so you will be thinking about it from start to finish. Be sure to add this incredible book to your TBR list! A great book club pick as well.