Victor Pemberton writes a compelling saga in Leo's Girl , a story of class divisions, romance and the Second World War. Perfect for fans of Dee Williams and Dilly Court.
'Lights down, tucked up snug you can almost hear air raid sirens as Pemberton spins another superb story of London folk during wartime' - Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Twenty-six-year old Peggy Thornton is a middle-class girl living in the heart of working-class Islington. Although she loves her parents, Peggy has always felt her home life to be narrow and claustrophobic so, when women are urged to help on the home front after the outbreak of the Second World War, she starts training as a conductor on a London Transport bus.
Her parents are both appalled; it's hardly a fitting position for the daughter of a local magistrate. It is not just Peggy's parents who make her life difficult. Many of the bus crew haven't adjusted to women from their own class working let alone the likes of Peggy. And her relationship with Leo, who is most definitely from the wrong part of town, serves to create further tensions. It is only when the real enemy strikes, and a bomb explodes in the path of a bus, that these petty differences are cast aside, but, for some, it's too late to say sorry.
What readers are saying about Victor
'Always a good and enjoyable read'
'An excellent read, [Victor Pemberton's] stories are always very authentic '
Victor Pemberton was a British writer and television producer. His scriptwriting work included BBC radio plays, and television scripts for the BBC and ITV, including Doctor Who, The Slide and The Adventures of Black Beauty.
His television production work included the British version of Fraggle Rock (second series onwards), and several independent documentaries including the 1989 International Emmy Award-winning Gwen: A Juliet Remembered, about stage actress Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies.
In addition to novelisations, he wrote many nostalgic novels set in London, prompted by the success of his autobiographical radio drama series Our Family.
In later life he moved to Spain, where he continued to write novels until his death in 2017.
Another new author for me . The book had an authentic feel to it , being set in London during the bl itz. The similarities between the indiscriminate bombings by the Germans and the current destruction of Ukraine by the Russians , suggest that civilisation has hardly moved on at all in the last 80 years .The heroine of the story is an upper middle class innocent who decides to help the war effort by becoming a bus conductress - much to the dismay of her father . Her trials and tribulations make for an enjoyable read , and most readers will be content with the happy ending - unlikely though it is in the real world .