A Flower That's Free

Flowers #2

by Sarah Harrison

Exotic as a tiger lily, Kate Kingsley leaves the familiar harsh beauty of her Kenyan home to set out for London with a sense of adventure and excitement. But far from finding the freedom she longs for, she chafes against the formality of an upper class English household, while the frivolous glamour of 1930s London doesn't offer much scope for Kate's impulsive energy. When she's swpt off her feet by a handsome army officer, marriage seems to promise a form of escape. Then world events combine with personal upheavals to precipitate a crisis. Caught up in the turmoil of pre-war London, then in the horrors of the siege of Malta, Kate needs to draw on all her reserves of courage and resourcefulness.

Genres: Historical Fiction, British Literature, Historical, Fiction

767 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Evelyn Orange · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colourful characters, intriguing story over many locations. The author doesn’t hold back on showing some of the horrors of war. A very long book that kept my interest up to the end. I read it originally when it was first published and it’s interesting to see how writing styles have changed over the years. Stories of some minor characters would not be included in a more recent novel, I reckon. But very well written.

[Rita Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful second book in this trilogy, so very well written by Sarah Harrison. This book features Thea and Jack's daughter, Kate, who moves from Kenya to London to spread her wings. An intriguing love story, an insight into the war and life in Berlin, from the viewpoint of a war correspondent and a passionate love affair are all combined in this novel.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave 5 stars to The Flowers Of The Field, but despite a good start this sequel failed to hold my interest and I skimmed my way through the second half. Very disappointing.

[Alisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sequel to Flowers of the Field is just as captivating.
The characters are so engaging and true to life that you feel as if you know them personally and I was sorry to leave them at the end, even the one or two I didn’t particularly like.
I very much look forward to the final book in the trilogy, particularly as I hope it will wrap up the ending of this one, which was a bit of a cliffhanger.
Nowadays so many bestseller authors are under pressure to bring out one book after another within a short space of time and they often come across as a rush job, lacking depth. This trilogy was written in the 1980s , I believe. What I thoroughly appreciate is the attention to detail and the author’s love and pride of her own work which often seems to be missing in more recent novels.

[Fiona Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was captivated right from thr beginning. Sarah Harrison made me care about every character (even if I didn't like some of them) and her descriptions of the horrors of war and the violence of passion kept me glued to the pages.

[Kathleen Bulteel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book that talks about the complexity of love within a setting of war. Especially interesting for me was the insight of Malta in the 40s, and hearing the narration of an outsider talking about the daily life there, and certain sayings and habitudes of the people.

[Happpy Flower · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a very slow start the book became more compelling, especially the war scenes, which are detailed and disturbing.

[Aristotll]

https://archive.org/details/flowertha...

[Caroline Wilson · Rating 2 out of 5]

As the second installment in the Flower Trilogy by Sarah Harrison, A Flower That’s Free picks up sometime after the end of The Flowers of the Field. The heroine of this tome is Kate Kingsley, the daughter of Thea Tennant and her husband, Jack Kingsley. It is 1936, and the Kingsleys have been eking out a living on their farm in Kenya. Kate is their adoptive daughter who came to them when she was just five years old. If the reader is familiar with Flowers of the Field, they will quickly discern who Kate’s real mother is. She does her mother just in some ways as Kate is startlingly unemotional to the point of being ungrateful. Even though the Kingsleys have always treated her as their own, she cannot wait to get to England and start her own life, free from the demands of her parents. Fortunately, unlike her mother, she is much more grounded.

Much like its predecessor, A Flower That’s Free excels in the scenery department. The hot, rugged plains of Africa are brilliantly brought to life, though the explicitness in some scenes is difficult to read. Some readers may find themselves skimming the opening chapters, as the action does not begin until Kate arrives in England. The author’s annoying habit of flashing back to detail conversations and past action can be a bit trying at times. Nonetheless, readers who enjoyed Flowers of the Field will be pleased to catch up with the Tennant family once again.

[Beks · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is confused about what it is - a novel or a non fiction work on the history of the Second World War, and could have been more condensed around the major events that form the background of the story (Dunkirk and The Blitz). I enjoyed the continuity of the characters in the Tennant family, but the second half of the novel failed to hold my attention and was overly detailed and too long, and all the characters being predictably killed or married off in the latter half grew tedious.

The author has an annoying habit of using terrible metaphors in romantic scenes which create jarring images as you're reading. I found this slightly better than the first book in some ways but equally as disappointing in others. I have come this far so will read the final book in the trilogy, but would not read anything else by Sarah Harrison.

[Megan]

Quit 11/7/96

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

The woman can write a book. Not for the faint of heart, over 750 pages, but I could not put it down.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book yesterday and I already miss these characters. I love long books that draw me in like this.