A Woman of Spirit

Margaret Dickinson

BORN within a month of each, Molly and Queenie have been the best of friends since their schooldays but when they both fall for lovable rogue Harry Spencer, their close relationship will be tested to the limit.  

Margaret Dickinson (pictured below) – a writer who had her first novel published at the age of 25 and has since gone on to pen a raft of bestselling sagas – is on fine form as she brings us a gritty and heart-rending tale of unrequited love set against the fears, suspicions and uncertainties of the First World War.

In June of 1912 in Leicestershire, all the girls notice startlingly handsome Harry Spencer… with his shiny black hair and brown eyes full of mischief, the girls in the neighbourhood battle to ‘walk out’ with him or even just talk to him. Molly and Queenie are no different but Molly knows she fades into insignificance at the side of blonde-haired, blue-eyed Queenie who seems to make everyone look twice at her.

It breaks Molly’s heart to see Queenie flirting with Harry but she quickly turns her mind to the Suffragette movement, finding solace and passion in helping their cause.

Inevitably, the girls’ friendship becomes strained and when war breaks out in 1914, the local community starts to hear rumours that Molly has been delivering white feathers, a symbol of cowardice, and she is cast out by everyone she holds dear. In times of despair, can Molly hold on to hope and prove the truth that is in her heart?

Dickinson is a born storyteller who knows how to immerse her readers in the past and a forgotten way of life, and in her emotion-packed new romance, she brings us a torrid tale filled with heartache, courage and page-turning drama. 

Written with the author’s signature warmth and insight, A Woman of Spirit delivers the kind of rich period detail that brings the past and its people to vibrant life. A delight for all saga fans!
(Macmillan, hardback, £22)