War Story - Hardcover

Hely, Sara

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 031230532X ISBN 13: 9780312305321

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books, 2003

Synopsis

In the wonderful tradition of Elizabeth Jane Howard, War Story tells an extraordinarily authentic tale of both rationing and riches during the war years and at the same time unfolds a mesmerizing and unforgettable love story.

After war breaks out in 1939, Dulcimer Hall, deep in rural England, is a haven of tranquility in a world rocked by conflict. The Dulcimer children run amok in the rambling grounds, blissfully unaware of the threat of invasion and also unaware of the dramas developing in the lives of the sophisticated adults around them. Antonia is a vivacious yet shallow widow in search of a new husband; Dart is a dashing, sometimes reckless war hero; and David is a skilled American pilot determined to join the RAF.

Into this charmed circle comes Maggie Dunlop, a Scottish girl taken on as a nursemaid. The daughter of the gamekeeper in a Highland glen, Maggie’s previous life has been nothing but hardship. Soon she’s thriving in her new post, adored by the children, and well liked by both staff and family. Little does she know that her popularity is sowing dangerous seeds of jealousy, or that innocent feelings of affection can grow into a deep yet impossible love.

With warmth and humor Sara Hely brings to life a rich cast of characters and an era filled with life-and-death drama, outstanding courage, and hope.

About this title

About the Author

Sara Hely, born in London in the 1930s, was evacuated to America during the Second World War, and then lived in Ireland before settling with her husband in rural Ayrshire, Scotland. She has four adult children and many grandchildren.

From the Back Cover

Praise for War Story

"I couldn't have liked it more, especially the way [Sara Hely] combines a sweeping story with a wonderful sense of intimacy--I really felt I knew these people and was totally involved."
-- Sarah Harrison, author of The Grass Memorial

"I devoured War Story with enormous pleasure. What a masterly storyteller she is, and how good at creating characters in whom one believes and whose destiny one cares about."
-- Philip Ziegler, author of Soldiers

From the Inside Flap

In the wonderful tradition of Elizabeth Jane Howard. War Story tells an extraordinary authentic tale of oth rationing and riches during the war years and at the same time unfolds a mesmerizing and unforgettable love story.

After war breaks out in 1939, Dulcimer Hall, deep in rural England, is a haven of tranquility in a world rocked by conflict. The Dulcimer children run amok in the rambling grounds, blissfully unaware of the threat of invasion and also unaware of the dramas developing in the lives of the sophisticated adults around them. Antonia is a vivacious yet shallow widow in search of a new husband; Dart is a dashing, sometimes reckless war hero; and David is a skilled American pilot determined to join the RAF.

Into this charmed circle comes Maggie Dunlop, a Scottish girl taken on as a nursemaid. The daughter of the gamekeeper in a Highland glen, Maggie's previous life has been nothing but hardship. Soon she's thriving in her new post, adored by the children, and well liked by both staff and family. Little does she know that her popularity is sowing dangerous seeds of jealousy, or that innocent feelings of affecftion can grow into a deep yet impossible love.

With warmth and humor Sara Hely brings to life a rich cast of characters and an era filled with life-and-death drama, outstanding courage, and hope.

Reviews

This entertaining, sprawling World War II story, with its Upstairs, Downstairs feel, centers on the families headed by grandmotherly twin sisters at their respective estates on Long Island and Sussex, England. When 1940 London proves too dangerous, the daughters and widowed daughter-in-law of Lord and Lady Dulcimer bring their children and servants to Sussex and then seek greater safety in America at the estate of the Vorsts, owners of a string of luxury hotels. Appetizing plot lines abound, the major one involving the lovely but manipulative widow Antonia, whose children are looked after by nursery maid Maggie Dunlop. When her dashing brother-in-law Lord Dartmore declines marriage despite their dalliance, Antonia abruptly marries much-younger David Vorst, who runs the London Vorst hotel. But David's desire to join the RAF rather than return home to America suits Antonia no more than his friendship with Maggie. When military assignments bring David and Maggie together years later, there's little doubt whether the twain shall meet. Hely, evacuated to America as a child during the war, spins a fine tale. Michele Leber
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 031230532X
• ISBN 13: 9780312305321
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 448