Phoebe Richardson is a member of the Voluntary Aid Detachment service, she's stationed at the base hospital in Étaples France, here they treat men straight from the trenches, and they are wounded or sick, exhausted and filthy. This is how Phoebe meets Captain Archie Bailey, he’s one of the men she’s attending to and much to his embarrassment, she discovers Archie is an architect and from Sandsend. Falling in love and forming attachments with patients is strictly forbidden, but Archie and Phoebe do and knowing he will be send back to England to finish his recovery and then return to the front.
Celia Richardson is a qualified nurse, she working at a POW camp on the Island of Jersey and one of her patients is Lieutenant Otto Hoffman and he’s an Austrian doctor. Despite warning Phoebe about keeping her distance from patients, Celia discovers Otto isn't the monster she thought he would be, he was conscripted into the German army and her attitude towards to the enemy changes.
Both Phoebe and Celia struggle through the war years, in Phoebe’s case her health suffers and she goes to Cornwall for a much needed rest. Celia likes Otto, but her parents and brother were killed in a Zeppelin attack and is it possible for them to be together and what would Phoebe think?
I received a copy of The Poppy Sisters by Deborah Carr from HarperCollins UK and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The story gives you a realistic idea what it was like in England, France and Jersey during The Great War, the wounds and medical procedures, comradery and friction between hospital staff, bond between siblings, bravery and having to being stoic and treating prisoners of war and show them compassion.
The character driven narrative focuses on the resilience of Celia, Phoebe, Archie, Otto, Jocasta and Louis, developing feelings and wartime romantic relationships, love and longing, waiting for the war to end and the outbreak of the Spanish flu. Another well written historical fiction story by Ms. Carr and I hope there is a sequel as I would like to know what happens between Celia and Otto and five stars from me.