Victoria Purman
Reviewed by Helen
I am not sure what to say, other than this is a must read, Victoria Purman has done it again with an amazing story that took me back to World War 2 and let me get to know three wonderful woman who did what they could back home while their men were away, make yourself comfy for this one and have some tissues at the ready.
Flora comes from Melbourne and is the oldest of them and a spinster, she works at an office, looks after her father and brother and her youngest brother is already away fighting, but something happens and Flora joins up with the Land Army.
Betty is the youngest of the girls at seventeen, she lives in Sydney with her parents and works at Woolworths, her best friend is her next door neighbour Michael, when Michael turns eighteen he signs up and Betty decides to do her bit with the Land Army.
Lilian comes from a well to do family in Adelaide, her sister is a Doctor in the army tending soldiers in the Middle East, when she marries her boyfriend David just before he joins up and leaves to train to be a pilot, Lilian joins up as well.
Flora, Betty and Lilian learn a lot in their years in the Land Army, from picking cherries and grapes to harvesting flax and digging up potatoes, but what they learn more is friendship and compassion as they worry about their family and friends fighting overseas. Their years in the Land Army change them all, so much has happened to so many people, there is death and sadness but there is also love and hope for the future that bring them together.
This is a beautifully written story that was obviously so well researched, I cried bucket loads of tears and I smiled as well as I journeyed with Flora, Betty and Lilian and the many other girls we got to know, Kit and Gwen, these woman worked so hard to help Australia and the fighting men it makes me so proud of them. This is a book I highly recommend a must read, and one that will stay with me for a long time to come, thank you MS Purman.
5 stars
Published
April 23rd 2019
by HarperCollins Publishers Australia
