Victory for the Bluebird Girls

Rosie Archer

THE Bluebird Girls singing trio have been flying high for five long years of wartime… but as the conflict draws to a close, will the winds of change blow their lives off course?

Welcome back to the rollercoaster lives of three young women from Gosport, the Hampshire town with a long and distinguished naval and maritime history which has become familiar to an army of readers thanks to the wonderful novels of Rosie Archer, one of its proudest inhabitants.

After a series of compelling novels featuring the women who work on the south coast of England during the Second World War, Archer’s emotional Bluebird Girls sagas have been following a group of singers whose fates and fortunes play out against real-life events. 

And now the final chapter in the tumultuous lives of songbird trio, Bea Herron, Ivy Sparrow and Rainey Bird, is beckoning as the lights come back on across Europe, and a hard-fought victory and peacetime are finally in sight.

ON SONG: Rosie Archer

So much has happened over the years for the Bluebird Girls, but in 1944 they are back together and singing for the troops. The Allies are making one final push in Europe and Bea, Ivy and Rainey are travelling across the country to boost the morale of the troops and factory workers. After everything they have been through, it’s good to be singing again.

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In their rise to fame over the course of the war, the girls have faced down bombs and looked tragedy in the eye. They have also found love, created their own families and established careers that they never thought possible.

But now an end to the war is finally on the horizon… what will the new world order hold for the south coast’s favourite singing trio?

There is always a gritty edge of realism to Archer’s sagas and this final, drama-packed chapter for the tough and resilient young women is a stark reminder that wartime brings trials, triumphs and tragedies for those on both the battlefield and the home front. It was a time when death was only ever a heartbeat away, and daily life in industrial cities like Gosport was under constant threat from bombing raids. But wartime also saw communities come together, and friends, neighbours and family became the solid bedrock which helped many through the best and worst of times.

Over four compelling books, the trio of gutsy songbirds have won the hearts of thousands of readers as they keep smiling through the many hardships thrown at them.

With period charm and nostalgia on every page – whether that’s music, rationed food, the dreaded blackout or the wail of air raid sirens – Archer’s sparkling Bluebirds series ends on the high note we have come to expect from this much-loved author.
(Quercus, paperback, £6.99)