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Wartime Brides #1
Wartime Brides
The war is now over and people must count the cost. Three women from very different backgrounds meet when they find themselves on Bristol Temple Meads station waiting for the return of their loved ones. Edna's fiance , Colin, comes home crippled. Charlotte's doctor husband, who was a loving and gentle father, returns a violent, disturbed man with no love for her and even less for their children. Polly, who is waiting for her GI boyfriend Aaron, is once again disappointed when he doesn't arrive. Adjusting to men who are very changed and, in Polly's case, to no man at all, is the core of this enthralling novel. However, during the war years, the women have had to cope. They too have changed and they harbour secrets that would be best kept.
410 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2002
34 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
About the author
Jeannie Johnson
13 books18 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
aka J.G. Goodhind.
Jeannie Johnson was born and brought up in South Bristol and has worked in law, the probation service, tourism and as a supporting actress in CASUALTY and HOLBY CITY. She recently won the BBC New Writers Initiative at Radio Bristol for a script entitled 'Second Time Around'. She is married with one daughter and lives in the Wye Valley with her husband.
aka J.G. Goodhind.
Jeannie Johnson was born and brought up in South Bristol and has worked in law, the probation service, tourism and as a supporting actress in CASUALTY and HOLBY CITY. She recently won the BBC New Writers Initiative at Radio Bristol for a script entitled 'Second Time Around'. She is married with one daughter and lives in the Wye Valley with her husband.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
January 8, 2014
From the first page of Wartime Brides I became completely engrossed in the lives of the three Wartime Brides, their loves, hates, families and friends.
Lizzie Lane convincingly describes war-torn Bristol after the Second World War without drowning the novel in historical facts. She also captures the mood of the era - for example, housewives fed up with rationing, and powdered egg a substitute for real eggs. Women also fed up with clothes rationing.
I sympathised with poor Edna, whose domineering mother forced her to keep her secret and marry her disabled fiancée.
When kind, fashionable Charlotte went to the train station with her children to welcome her husband, a doctor, home, it soon becomes shockingly obvious that he is not the considerate, gentle man she remembers and yearns for.
As for Polly, mother of her faithless GI boyfriend's child, she is on a quest to find an American or Canadian who will marry her and whisk her and her daughter away to a new life.
The rich tapestry of their lives draw the three women from different backgrounds together throughout the novel. Charlotte, Edna and Polly will remain with me for some time.
I strongly recommend this enjoyable read.
Lizzie Lane convincingly describes war-torn Bristol after the Second World War without drowning the novel in historical facts. She also captures the mood of the era - for example, housewives fed up with rationing, and powdered egg a substitute for real eggs. Women also fed up with clothes rationing.
I sympathised with poor Edna, whose domineering mother forced her to keep her secret and marry her disabled fiancée.
When kind, fashionable Charlotte went to the train station with her children to welcome her husband, a doctor, home, it soon becomes shockingly obvious that he is not the considerate, gentle man she remembers and yearns for.
As for Polly, mother of her faithless GI boyfriend's child, she is on a quest to find an American or Canadian who will marry her and whisk her and her daughter away to a new life.
The rich tapestry of their lives draw the three women from different backgrounds together throughout the novel. Charlotte, Edna and Polly will remain with me for some time.
I strongly recommend this enjoyable read.
March 30, 2016
Liked this story very easy to follow.
April 2, 2019
I was disappointed with this book-very slow going. The ending made up for it slightly but took me a while to read as I couldn't get into it, not a lot seemed to happen!
September 5, 2021
3.5 Stars. The challenges of Edna’s marriage, their time apart during the war and his injuries weren’t explored quite as fully as they could have been and her story seemed a little rushed in the end but the bits involving her baby were nicely done, appropriately difficult and bittersweet.
Polly was the toughest to like early on for the shallow and reactionary choices she makes without really any meatier motivation than a desire to be wealthy, but I enjoyed where her arc ended up going.
As for Charlotte, I very much liked her character, I liked that she wasn’t the snob you might think she’d be and she genuinely tried to fight for people and help but the novel didn’t dig as deeply into her abusive relationship or the other relationship in her life as I would have preferred, for instance there were vivid glimpses of the abuse Charlotte suffers yet not much follow up on her emotional state after these incidents, I didn’t expect the book to wallow in it, but it did dull the impact somewhat to not delve into her feelings more.
I definitely wanted a little more emotionally from each of these women’s stories, though overall it was still fairly engrossing and the endings offered a decent mix of happy and something less than happy to feel plausible.
Polly was the toughest to like early on for the shallow and reactionary choices she makes without really any meatier motivation than a desire to be wealthy, but I enjoyed where her arc ended up going.
As for Charlotte, I very much liked her character, I liked that she wasn’t the snob you might think she’d be and she genuinely tried to fight for people and help but the novel didn’t dig as deeply into her abusive relationship or the other relationship in her life as I would have preferred, for instance there were vivid glimpses of the abuse Charlotte suffers yet not much follow up on her emotional state after these incidents, I didn’t expect the book to wallow in it, but it did dull the impact somewhat to not delve into her feelings more.
I definitely wanted a little more emotionally from each of these women’s stories, though overall it was still fairly engrossing and the endings offered a decent mix of happy and something less than happy to feel plausible.
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April 17, 2013A lovely tale of three very different in war time Britain she tells about single parenthood , mental health, disability and rasism at a time when all these issues were not spoken of. Quite a different style of war time novel as she says about how the men have changed in personality from things they have witnessed. A real page turner.
May 21, 2019
I loved this book following the lives of polly Charlotte and Edna in ww2 Bristol I was hooked from page one it’s the first time for me reading Lizzie lane and what a great author she is now on to the next book coronation wives
March 13, 2021
While this isn't normally the kind of book I read, I picked this one up since it was a gift, and I'm glad I did, as I ended up liking it more than I thought I would.
What initially piqued my interest was the WW2 setting, but the story really took off in the second half and kept me hooked.
The war has just ended, and people are trying to get accustomed to a new way of life. There's been a lot of death and destruction around, but everyone's relieved that the war's over. However, there's a lot to rebuild, a long way to go before life can go back to normal for everyone. The soldiers who have returned home after the war aren't the same people who left.
The story revolves around Edna, Polly and Charlotte who are eagerly waiting for their better halves to come back home, but they are unaware of the challenges that face the new life ahead of them.
Lizzie has done a wonderful job of portraying post-war Bristol, and the people living there. If you love historical fiction, especially from the WW2 era, this book is a good choice.
What initially piqued my interest was the WW2 setting, but the story really took off in the second half and kept me hooked.
The war has just ended, and people are trying to get accustomed to a new way of life. There's been a lot of death and destruction around, but everyone's relieved that the war's over. However, there's a lot to rebuild, a long way to go before life can go back to normal for everyone. The soldiers who have returned home after the war aren't the same people who left.
The story revolves around Edna, Polly and Charlotte who are eagerly waiting for their better halves to come back home, but they are unaware of the challenges that face the new life ahead of them.
Lizzie has done a wonderful job of portraying post-war Bristol, and the people living there. If you love historical fiction, especially from the WW2 era, this book is a good choice.
August 17, 2021
A great story that follows the lives of three different woman after WW2. Each story could be real as this book deals with real issues and lives as people try to find a new normal or trying to return to 'normal'. This book may have been slower than the usual books I read but Charlotte, Edna and Polly are three interesting women with different wants and goals, fears, secrets and agendas. Reading their lives as they adapt to new people and situations, I found this book hard to put down.
February 20, 2018
This is a comfy, if fairly predictable read, but is good for all that. I found the characters believable and I empathised with their struggles. The end was perhaps a little too tidy - like a comforting hot drink, it was fun to read and I wanted to see how it all panned out. I'd certainly read more from this author.
December 18, 2018
A good story and I liked all the characters.
August 12, 2020
Another great read and how families were all effected by the war and the years that followed.
October 20, 2024
I really enjoyed this book.
November 11, 2013
Loved this story.Its set in Bristol after the war,where three women,Edna,Charlotte and polly wait for their loved ones to return home.Poor Edna's boyfriend comes back and he has lost his legs..
Charlotte's husband has changed from a kind and loving man and suffers from flash backs,and polly finds her boyfriend has'nt returned..all three women find their lives will never be the same again,as they struggle to come to terms with what ever life has in store for them.It made me smile and crinch at some of the things Polly did,feel sadness at the sad parts,but if you want a story to touch the heart strings,this is a must to read.
Charlotte's husband has changed from a kind and loving man and suffers from flash backs,and polly finds her boyfriend has'nt returned..all three women find their lives will never be the same again,as they struggle to come to terms with what ever life has in store for them.It made me smile and crinch at some of the things Polly did,feel sadness at the sad parts,but if you want a story to touch the heart strings,this is a must to read.
June 15, 2015
After watching the Home Fires series on ITV I was in the mood for a wartime story. I loved all the characters in this book and with the series fresh in my mind it was easy to visualise everything. I am glad I did not live in those times . I would recommend this book for anybody who loves wartime romance, GIs, taboo subjects of that time but with glimmers of hope. I am going to read the sequel Coronation Wives next sincd I enjoyed it so much and cannot wait to see what happens to the 3 girls Edna, Charlotte and Polly...unlike the next Home Fires series which is a year away! It has made me want to read more books by Lizzie Lane.
August 13, 2011
I enjoyed the book wholeheartedly and it was a fast read. Manage to finish it in 2 days.
I'd always been interested in the stories regarding women during the war. The one that were left behind and kept waiting . I like the characters setup, though Edna pisses me of with her indecisiveness. The writing is simple and no nonsense which I appreciated.
I guess towards the end, I felt like there's could be something more. Whatever that is I don't know which is why the 3 stars.
All in all, it was an enjoyable read.
I'd always been interested in the stories regarding women during the war. The one that were left behind and kept waiting . I like the characters setup, though Edna pisses me of with her indecisiveness. The writing is simple and no nonsense which I appreciated.
I guess towards the end, I felt like there's could be something more. Whatever that is I don't know which is why the 3 stars.
All in all, it was an enjoyable read.
March 30, 2013
A touching story of the lives of 3 women in wartime Britain.
The story raises mental health issues, disability, and single motherhood, and inter-racial relationships in an era when these things were not spoken off outside the family unit. Lizzie Lane did this so well in her 3 ladies and I loved it!
All 3 ladies finally found resolution in their lives...
Ideal for readers who like historical fiction although you can learn alot about women's lives in the past.
The story raises mental health issues, disability, and single motherhood, and inter-racial relationships in an era when these things were not spoken off outside the family unit. Lizzie Lane did this so well in her 3 ladies and I loved it!
All 3 ladies finally found resolution in their lives...
Ideal for readers who like historical fiction although you can learn alot about women's lives in the past.
February 23, 2013
Lovely story of 3 women and how their lives collide. Great read.
May 14, 2015
A read about 3 wartime brides living very different life's.
May 25, 2013
ijust loved this book it was well writen and the plot was good i would recommend this book
January 28, 2014
This book was so good. It the style of book that grabs you at the first sentence. a real page turner.
I am now going to to read the follow on book Coronation Wives.
I am now going to to read the follow on book Coronation Wives.
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April 22, 2014terrible!
August 13, 2016
Lovely easy read
January 2, 2013
I love these types of books .. Brilliant read :)
July 31, 2013
A light read - makes you realise the end of the war wasn't a happy time for everyone.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews