Publisher: Bookouture
Release date: 25 July 2024
Back cover blurb: Can two young women and one book change the course of war? 1940. Whip-smart librarian Peggy Sparks is determined to make sure that her brother Joe returns from the frontline to their London home, which they share with their beloved mother and grandmother. So when she is offered a once-in-a-lifetime job at the heart of the war effort, Peggy jumps at the prospect of making a real contribution to her country. But when she finds herself working under the fanciful socialite Lady Marigold Cecily, Peggy discovers that those around her are more keen on dancing at the Café de Paris than on ending the war. Writing accounts of her daily life is the only thing keeping Peggy's hopes alive. But when she finds her inner-most thoughts accidentally published by the Ministry of Information, Peggy realises she needs Marigold's help to save her job, and to bring her brother home . . .
Peggy Sparks and Marigold Cecily could not be more different. Thrown together by the war to work at the Ministry of Information, in the publishing department, their backgrounds and personalities are worlds apart.
Peggy is smart, down to earth and determined to do her bit to bring the war to an end and ensure her Brother Joe returns home in one piece.
Marigold is a Lady, persistently late to work, always has somewhere more important to be, and seems more interested in dancing at Cafe de Paris than doing her bit for the War.
But she has a keen eye for photography, and after a bit of a shaky start Peggy realises that there is much more to Marigold than meets the eye.
Peggy is kind hearted, but has a determined streak, no doubt inherited from her Grandmother whose sharp tongue and quick wit provides some genuine laugh out loud moments in this novel.
At first, we feel a little detached from the War as reader, which I assume is deliberate as this is how the characters themselves must have felt at times.
Then the Blitz bombings start, and the novel takes a different direction, as do some of its characters, and we are right there in the heart of it all...
This is a wonderful historical fiction novel, and I look forward to this author's next.
A Girl's Guide to Winning the War is available from 25 July. You can pre-order it now via Amazon online and all good book shops.
Thank You to the publishers who approved my request via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
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