Welcome to the Victory Cafe, the deliciously inspired creation of first novelist Helene Wiggin. Belle Morton, who takes on the job of turning the fussy old tea shop on Market Square in Lichfield, England, into a cheerful cafe to occupy herself when her husband goes to war - and to support herself, since he isn't returning to their marriage at war's end - has fancy ideas about food and service: This is the only place in this cathedral town where soldiers - especially black American GIs - can escape the suspicious attitude of the townspeople and get not only a genuine welcome but a delicious meal.
Dorrie and Wyn, the waitresses, befriend three black GIs and are soon attending dances at the American army base and holding after-curfew parties at the cafe. Dorrie quickly falls for Lucky, one of the soldiers, whose friendliness and cool jazz music win her heart.
But the stifling village morality cannot handle an affair between the minister's daughter and a black American. Only years after the war's end, long after the Victory Cafe has closed its doors, can friendship triumph over the tragedy of the past.
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To match the several mystery series whose red herrings are spiced with tempting recipes, here's a World War II British romance full of directions for concocting pasties, pies, puds, and even spam fritters! Belle Morton makes something special of wartime rations at her Lichfield restaurant, and shocks town traditionalists and visitors from the nearby Yankee air base by refusing to enforce at her cafethe racial segregation taken for granted at the base. Three jazz-loving African American GIs, in particular, find in the cafea home away from home, and the inevitable results, both positive and negative, occur. Wiggin's American dialects often miss the mark (though time may be as relevant as race here), but her lively, believable characters and affecting story make this first novel a tale that should be read with "White Cliffs of Dover," "I'll Be Seeing You," and "Bye Bye Blackbird" playing in the background. Mary Carroll
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