The Lemon Tree

by Helen Forrester

A compelling novel of Liverpool and Canada, from the bestselling author of Liverpool Daisy, Three Women of Liverpool and Thursday’s Child.

For Helena Al-Khoury, life as an immigrant has been full of loneliness and despair. On the long road that has taken her from her family home in the Lebanon to the bustling port of Liverpool, the slums of Chicago, and finally to the Canadian wilderness, the struggle to overcome heartbreak, loss and cruel hardship has taken a heavy toll. Now, at last, with the constant support of Joe, her devoted lover, she has developed into a strong, independent woman.

When unexpected circumstances take her back across the Atlantic to Liverpool, Helena is offered the chance to take over the family business, and to become a success in her own right. Yet with her love far away on another continent, she feels torn apart. Soon the tragedies of the past and the challenges of the future threaten to overwhelm her…

Genres: Historical Fiction

402 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 15, 1990

About the author

Helen Forrester (real name June Bhatia) (born 1919, Hoylake, Cheshire (now in Merseyside)) is an English-born author famous for her books about her early childhood in Liverpool during the Great Depression as well as several works of fiction.

In 1953 Forrester moved to Edmonton, Canada.

Reviews

[Dena Robertson]

Feel like I need to try again with all the other good reviews

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Lemon Treetells the story of Wallace Helena Harding, a woman in her 30s.When we first meet her, she has difficult decisions to make, following the death of her uncle, James Al-Khoury.
Wallace Helena began life as Helena Al-Khoury, beloved daughter of a silk merchant. The small family was forced to leave the Lebanon in 1860 - Helena’s uncle James decided to stay in Liverpool, but the rest of the family sailed across to North America, eventually settling in Chicago. Wallace Helena eventually ended up in the Canadian wilderness, living the hard life of a settler. However, when her Uncle James died, she found herself the sole beneficiary of his will and she had to return to Liverpool to claim her inheritance.
The story was interesting enough - I searched for details of the trouble in Lebanon in 1860 and found quite a lot of information about the actual historical events. There were also well researched details about the early manufacture of soap for commercial use, as well as glimpses of life for Canadian settlers.
However, despite the thorough research and an array of characters, I find it hard to be enthusiastic about the book. The style was annoying for the first third - it seemed as if the author couldn’t decide how to tell the story and opted for very lengthy flashbacks. It improved for me when she just told the story as it was happening. I also felt that the ending was rushed and left me feeling dissatisfied.

[Marty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful saga of clashing cultures. The Al-Khoury family had lived in Lebanon for generations . They had a silk and fine materials shop and did quite well. They were Maronite Christians, a minority in the Turkish Moslem country. In 1860 there was a massacre of the Christians and the family barely escaped with their lives. Helena was about 9 at the time of the massacare. Helena’s father had heard rumors of trouble so had been wearing a money belt and his wife always wore her jewelry. Money was sewn into their clothing. He had directed a shipment away from Beruit and sent it to Chicago where they had friends. After the death of her husband, Helena’s mother married a Canadian Tom. Tom was a widower. and Helena and her mother followed him to Calgary, Canada. At that time it was just a small fort on the frontier. Tom and his part Cree part African-American partner had settled a homestead on Hudson Bay Land. Life was difficult on the frontier, but they managed…until a Typhoid epidemic to both Tom and Helen’s mother. Helena, and Joe struggle to keep the homestead together…. Then, out of nowhere, Helen finds that Tom’s brother had died and left him a soap factory in Liverpool, England.. and Helena was the only living relative. Could she run the soap factory? .. …. A wonderful family saga full of challenges, disappointment, and courage.

[Rt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting portray of the struggle and journey of the lead character in the era when things that we take for granted today were a luxury and rare!

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not like

[Eeman Sahar · Rating 1 out of 5]

most boring novel that i have ever come across

[Jo-Ann Leake · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has been in my library for around four years, and I finally picked it up to read during the hot and hazy days of summer. Helen Foresster manages to take the Maronite Christian massacre in Beirut of the 1860s; the settlement of northern Alberta and Hudson's Bay Company; Indigenous/Metis/African slavery; and industry in Liverpool - to weave a story of resilience and prosperity that captivates the reader. The more that I read, the more that I wanted to know. What I enjoyed most was the deeply humane nature of the characters, and their ability to connect to one another from different perspectives and experiences. Highly recommended.

[Val]

Excellent read

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a compelling story about a strong female who escaped Turkish repression in lebanon. Enduring tragedy, inheritance, discovering family, work opportunities and life in the Northwest Territories: a tale of endurance and self knowing.
My book club is reading The lemon tree by Sandy Tolan and I ordered this one in error. I’m glad I did . Now I need to read the other one.

[Nuriye]

still reading