None Stood Taller

Short listed for the "Selfies" self published book of the year award 2022

Finalist in the Independent Author Network book of the year award 2022

Two people united by the war but separated by the social divide that stands between them.

Lily is from the East End of London, Edward is the Earl of Middlebourne.

They work together within SOE where their contribution towards the D-Day landings is enormous. However great their achievement, the chasm between them remains. Can Edward take that giant stride, will Lily declare her love? All the while the war dictates their future.

Her journey begins beneath the rubble of the Blitz. Reduced to the ragged clothes she stands in, her unbreakable spirit propels her on a journey. That journey leads to the very top of the British war time establishment, and to Edward.

Lily’s story is inspired by real characters and events. In particular a group of women who contributed so much towards Britain's wartime intelligence and SOE. Viewed through Lily’s eyes, the historic details of World War Two come to life in a way you haven't experienced before.

Peter Turnham describes himself as an accidental novelist. As a semi-retired businessman, Peter's life was very active, until an injury confined him to a chair for several months. Unable to be active, he turned to writing and discovered a hidden talent. The result was his first novel "Autumn Daffodils - Charlie's Story". This was quickly followed by a second book, "Autumn Daffodils - Joanna's Story". This is his 3rd book, entitled "None Stood Taller", the first in his "None Stood Taller" trilogy, and Peter is now working on his 6th novel. He lives in the English Cotswold hills with Carol his wife and collaborator. Of all his many interests, writing has now become his number one passion; further novels will follow!An "unlikely author," I came to writing during enforced rest after snapping my Achilles tendon. In sheer desperation of boredom, I said to my wife Carol, "I'm going to write a novel." Had I said I was going to climb Mount Everest (wearing my leg brace) it would have been equally implausible! Despite being a dyslexic with the resultant short attention span and glacial reading pace, I have found the challenge immensely rewarding and enjoyable, with five novels to my name. Initially, I started with merely the words "Chapter One" but eventually I used a character based on a larger-than-life friend. The story developed spontaneously because I could visualise exactly what my character would say. The other characters then seemed to come and sit beside me, helping me to write their stories. The first title is "Autumn Daffodils - Charlie's Story," quickly followed by the continuation of the same story "Autumn Daffodils - Joanna's Story." Both are achieving modest success, though they are hard to market, not fitting into an easily recognised genre. I then chose a more focused genre, World War Two. Though I live in the Cotswolds, I was born and brought up in London. I used to listen to my parents' conversations about having lived through the Blitz and became very much aware of what they lived through. Thus "None Stood Taller" began, about Lily, a young woman who loses everything in the Blitz. Her incredible journey takes her to the very top of the British wartime establishment and Special Operations Executive (SOE), covering the period from 1941 to D-Day in 1944. Subsequently two more books in the series have been published: "None Stood Taller, The Final Year" covering Lily's life and loves from D-Day to VE-Day, and "None Stood Taller, the Price of Freedom" which is about Lily's good friend Dotty and the war years from her perspective as an SOE field agent. Just published, August 2024, is "Parallel Lives - a Story of the Greatest Generation", which is an inspiring tale about Emma, a doctor at St Thomas's Hospital, London and Roger, a police detective, transporting the reader to when the Hospital was bombed, also the Balham Tube Station disaster, and a killer who roamed the darkened streets of London under the cover of the Blackout.