AS three young women prepare for a summer season of strawberry picking in 1913, they little suspect that love may soon be knocking on their door... just as the drums of war start to slowly beat across Europe.
The Strawberry Field Girls comes from the pen of Karen Dickson, (pictured below) an author who started writing stories when she was just a child and has always been interested in social history. Her heartwarming sagas may be set in the south of England where she now lives but are inspired by the stories of her grandparents who lived in the North and grew up in the early part of the 20th century.
And this new rollercoaster tale, set amidst the glorious strawberry fields of Hampshire, recalls the county’s reputation as the ‘Strawberry Coast,’ harvesting high quality, flavourful strawberries which would be picked every day and over 20,000 berries loaded on to a daily train bound for Covent Garden and top hotels in London.
But when Leah takes a fancy to young seasonal farm hand Harry White from London, and Alice catches the eye of the handsome new curate Samuel Roberts, the two girls find themselves falling fast.
This leaves Dora on the outside, struggling with the weight of being her family’s sole breadwinner and caring for her sickly father. But the summer months are long and the surprises are far from over. Away from the fields, a war is brewing which risks everything the girls can dare to dream about. Beautifully written with what is fast becoming her signature warmth and empathy, Dickson’s new page-turner brings us three resourceful, determined and inspirational young women in a gripping story packed with emotion, drama and romance.
Featuring a cast of vibrant and authentic characters, the evocative backdrop of a country heading into war, and the charms of a forgotten rural world, this is a compelling and ultimately uplifting tale with friendship, family and love at its core.
(Simon & Schuster, paperback, £8.99)
No comments:
Post a Comment