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Without Warning: Ellen's Story, 1914-1918
After World War I calls her brother to the front lines, a young woman sets out to make a difference in this powerful historical novel.
"I don’t know much about wars except soldiers and sailors get killed and Jack might get killed with them. But grown-up people say . . . they’re a chance for young men to go off to foreign parts and be brave and come home heroes."
England, 1914. The piercing tone of the bugle changes a sleepy British village and Ellen Wilkins forever. It is the call to enlist — a chance Ellen’s brother, Jack, won’t miss. The call also spurs Ellen to leave the safety of home and begin a journey of self-discovery, one that takes her close to the front lines to pursue her calling as a nurse. In this gritty and insightful novel, Dennis Hamley deftly portrays the everyday realities of life in wartime, along with harrowing accounts of war’s lifelong effects on the young people caught in its path.
"I don’t know much about wars except soldiers and sailors get killed and Jack might get killed with them. But grown-up people say . . . they’re a chance for young men to go off to foreign parts and be brave and come home heroes."
England, 1914. The piercing tone of the bugle changes a sleepy British village and Ellen Wilkins forever. It is the call to enlist — a chance Ellen’s brother, Jack, won’t miss. The call also spurs Ellen to leave the safety of home and begin a journey of self-discovery, one that takes her close to the front lines to pursue her calling as a nurse. In this gritty and insightful novel, Dennis Hamley deftly portrays the everyday realities of life in wartime, along with harrowing accounts of war’s lifelong effects on the young people caught in its path.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2006
2 people are currently reading
132 people want to read
About the author
Dennis Hamley
105 books12 followersDennis Hamley was born in Kent in 1935 and lived in southern England throughout the war. After attending Cambridge University and completing a PHD at Leicester, Dennis went on to teach English and work in Education as a tutor and advisor.
He began writing in the 1970s and quickly showed his versatility. From the supernatural, to football to wartime novels, Dennis’s beautifully simple prose transports the reader effortlessly to the world of his novels. Many of Dennis’s tales center on uncovering the truth and revealing hidden stories. He uses period details and sensitive characterization to bring history and its people to life. He is passionate about providing page-turning reads for a new generation of discriminating readers.
He began writing in the 1970s and quickly showed his versatility. From the supernatural, to football to wartime novels, Dennis’s beautifully simple prose transports the reader effortlessly to the world of his novels. Many of Dennis’s tales center on uncovering the truth and revealing hidden stories. He uses period details and sensitive characterization to bring history and its people to life. He is passionate about providing page-turning reads for a new generation of discriminating readers.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 28, 2025
Excellent historical fiction about life on the home front and about what went on in hospital wards, during WW1. The events are narrated through the eyes and voice of teenager Ellen, who often has to make difficult choices about how to help her family during the troubled times. Her experiences as a nurse in the war time hospitals are heartbreakingly described in details that will make any reader misty-eyed. Because of this, the novel would be more appropriate for older, young adult readers. It would be an great informative tool to use in classrooms.
January 16, 2019
"It's dark now. The church clock has long struck midnight. Betty and Madge, twins and my younger sisters, went to sleep the moment I blew their candle out, but I can't sleep and I'm wondering if I ever will again."
Thus begins Ellen's People, the first novel in Dennis Hamley's Ellen Trilogy. Ellen Wilkins, a young woman living in rural England on the eve of World War I, has just witnessed a recruitment drive in her village. She has also witnessed some of the less attractive behaviour associated with such campaigns: jingoism, hatred of "the Hun", and fury against those who openly prefer peace to war. To Ellen, this is more than a purely abstract concern: her beloved brother Jack has enlisted, and she worries about what might happen to him. "I don’t know much about wars," Ellen admits, "except soldiers and sailors get killed and Jack might get killed with them."
Ellen's first-person, frequently present tense narration is deceptively simple. Hamley achieves a beautiful balancing act here: Ellen is highly intelligent and insightful, and yet her tone fits that of a country girl from a simple background who has received rather a basic education. Like many girls of her class and time, any form of Further or Higher Education is out of the question for Ellen: simple economic necessity means that she must, at a young age, go out to work as a maid for a wealthy family. The appalling drudgery of such work is not glossed over; Ellen and her fellow maids work long, gruelling hours for little pay and even less gratitude. When they act together to win a small but significant victory over their employers, we're absolutely behind them. This small act of rebellion – which is really little more than a simple demand for respect – is also an indication that the determined, courageous Ellen will not remain a housemaid for long.
In the meantime Jack returns from the trenches – alive, but missing a leg, and carrying a world of rage and distress within. As Ellen struggles to nurse him and hold her family together, she develops a strong empathy for the injured and sick, and an interest in nursing as a profession. Eventually, she goes to London to train as a nurse, and from there to join the nursing corps on the Continent. From this point on, the war – which occasionally seemed rather distant in Britain – becomes shockingly real and immediate. There are hellish depictions of the bloody reality of trench warfare. Soldiers are brought into the hospital with destroyed limbs, burns, gaping wounds in their stomachs; many die in agony in front of Ellen's eyes. There are times when she wonders if she can carry on. She does anyway, constantly growing in empathy and insight. In the end, Ellen transcends her own limitations, the expectations imposed by her sex and class, and becomes a truly rounded, sympathetic, experienced woman.
Ellen's People is not only about war, but about the prejudice, tribalism, and blind patriotism that give rise to warmongering. It is about much else besides: a class and social structure that was slowly being eroded, family and social relationships, and the increasing shift of power to women as they not only entered the workplace but began to take on ever more responsibility. This is, in short, a world that is becoming more recognisably like our own. 1914 and the outbreak of World War I are, obviously, a full century in the past now, but their repercussions are still being played out today. If anyone thinks that this period of history has lost its immediacy and power to shock, try reading Ellen's People. Ellen's urgent, insistent voice speaks directly to us, and her experiences become our experiences too.
Thus begins Ellen's People, the first novel in Dennis Hamley's Ellen Trilogy. Ellen Wilkins, a young woman living in rural England on the eve of World War I, has just witnessed a recruitment drive in her village. She has also witnessed some of the less attractive behaviour associated with such campaigns: jingoism, hatred of "the Hun", and fury against those who openly prefer peace to war. To Ellen, this is more than a purely abstract concern: her beloved brother Jack has enlisted, and she worries about what might happen to him. "I don’t know much about wars," Ellen admits, "except soldiers and sailors get killed and Jack might get killed with them."
Ellen's first-person, frequently present tense narration is deceptively simple. Hamley achieves a beautiful balancing act here: Ellen is highly intelligent and insightful, and yet her tone fits that of a country girl from a simple background who has received rather a basic education. Like many girls of her class and time, any form of Further or Higher Education is out of the question for Ellen: simple economic necessity means that she must, at a young age, go out to work as a maid for a wealthy family. The appalling drudgery of such work is not glossed over; Ellen and her fellow maids work long, gruelling hours for little pay and even less gratitude. When they act together to win a small but significant victory over their employers, we're absolutely behind them. This small act of rebellion – which is really little more than a simple demand for respect – is also an indication that the determined, courageous Ellen will not remain a housemaid for long.
In the meantime Jack returns from the trenches – alive, but missing a leg, and carrying a world of rage and distress within. As Ellen struggles to nurse him and hold her family together, she develops a strong empathy for the injured and sick, and an interest in nursing as a profession. Eventually, she goes to London to train as a nurse, and from there to join the nursing corps on the Continent. From this point on, the war – which occasionally seemed rather distant in Britain – becomes shockingly real and immediate. There are hellish depictions of the bloody reality of trench warfare. Soldiers are brought into the hospital with destroyed limbs, burns, gaping wounds in their stomachs; many die in agony in front of Ellen's eyes. There are times when she wonders if she can carry on. She does anyway, constantly growing in empathy and insight. In the end, Ellen transcends her own limitations, the expectations imposed by her sex and class, and becomes a truly rounded, sympathetic, experienced woman.
Ellen's People is not only about war, but about the prejudice, tribalism, and blind patriotism that give rise to warmongering. It is about much else besides: a class and social structure that was slowly being eroded, family and social relationships, and the increasing shift of power to women as they not only entered the workplace but began to take on ever more responsibility. This is, in short, a world that is becoming more recognisably like our own. 1914 and the outbreak of World War I are, obviously, a full century in the past now, but their repercussions are still being played out today. If anyone thinks that this period of history has lost its immediacy and power to shock, try reading Ellen's People. Ellen's urgent, insistent voice speaks directly to us, and her experiences become our experiences too.
September 2, 2014
Ellen’s People is a book with hidden depths. On the surface it is a simple story of one girl’s perception of the life of her family in wartime Britain.
It starts with a recruitment drive for young men to join the army in the early days of the First World War, when Ellen’s brother Jack joins the army. Through Ellen’s eyes we follow the jingoistic speeches which whip up enthusiasm for the war, and her fears for her brother. There is a sense of patriotism, a call to the colours, and war fever. But this leads to mob violence reflecting hatred for ‘The Hun’ with sympathisers being given short shrift. This sets off a series of events which become quite nasty.
However, things settle down and life goes on as normal with the impression of the war being far away. Ellen’s life follows it’s usual pattern which is the norm for women at the time. She lives at home and engages in domestic duties, although there are hints that changes are afoot for women.
Ellen goes into service against the wishes of her parents and gradually starts to become more independent. It is a gradual process although, through the passage of time, she trains to be a nurse and eventually goes to Abbeville to nurse soldiers.
The effect of the war on the villagers seems negligible at first, and there is a normality to the lives of the family. It is as if the war is a far distant thing that does not impact on them, until Jack comes home with only one leg after an amputation. But, even then, the full horrors are not apparent, and this reflects the propaganda stance the government took on the Home Front, where the realities of the conflict were not shared with the populace.
Slowly the realistion of what the war is all about dawns on Ellen, although it does not really prepare her for the full horrors she will experience when she goes to Abbeville in Belgium to nurse dying and wounded servicemen.
Ellen is an engaging character with the ability to draw the reader right into her life. The normality of that life in the beginning, and the blinkered view people had to the war, contrasts with the reality of the war’s impact. The class system at the time and the powerlessness of servants is obvious, as is the gradual shift of power to women who want to work. There are many threads to this story, but none more so than Ellen’s gradual awakening to the full horrors of what war entails.
This is a book well worth reading, and one which will draw the reader in with a firm grip, and not let go until the final paragraph.
It starts with a recruitment drive for young men to join the army in the early days of the First World War, when Ellen’s brother Jack joins the army. Through Ellen’s eyes we follow the jingoistic speeches which whip up enthusiasm for the war, and her fears for her brother. There is a sense of patriotism, a call to the colours, and war fever. But this leads to mob violence reflecting hatred for ‘The Hun’ with sympathisers being given short shrift. This sets off a series of events which become quite nasty.
However, things settle down and life goes on as normal with the impression of the war being far away. Ellen’s life follows it’s usual pattern which is the norm for women at the time. She lives at home and engages in domestic duties, although there are hints that changes are afoot for women.
Ellen goes into service against the wishes of her parents and gradually starts to become more independent. It is a gradual process although, through the passage of time, she trains to be a nurse and eventually goes to Abbeville to nurse soldiers.
The effect of the war on the villagers seems negligible at first, and there is a normality to the lives of the family. It is as if the war is a far distant thing that does not impact on them, until Jack comes home with only one leg after an amputation. But, even then, the full horrors are not apparent, and this reflects the propaganda stance the government took on the Home Front, where the realities of the conflict were not shared with the populace.
Slowly the realistion of what the war is all about dawns on Ellen, although it does not really prepare her for the full horrors she will experience when she goes to Abbeville in Belgium to nurse dying and wounded servicemen.
Ellen is an engaging character with the ability to draw the reader right into her life. The normality of that life in the beginning, and the blinkered view people had to the war, contrasts with the reality of the war’s impact. The class system at the time and the powerlessness of servants is obvious, as is the gradual shift of power to women who want to work. There are many threads to this story, but none more so than Ellen’s gradual awakening to the full horrors of what war entails.
This is a book well worth reading, and one which will draw the reader in with a firm grip, and not let go until the final paragraph.
November 30, 2012
Cover Blurb: Yes or No? Yes. Since it is a wartime novel, it fit’s the story, and I like covers that give me a sense of what the story is about. The girl’s face isn’t too defined, and she isn’t starting right at me, so I’m okay with that as well.
Characters: Ellen doesn’t start out as a very memorable protagonist. She’s neither unlikable nor especially lovable; just average. The sort of person who you say, “Oh, yeah, I like her.” Someone who doesn’t leave an especially deep impression on you. But as the story progresses, she begins to stand out more, especially when she goes to France as a wartime nurse, and her strong, caring, and brave personality takes front and center.
The Romance: While Ellen has a sweetheart - Archie - who goes off to war, and then later befriends Völger, a wounded German soldier at the war hospital, there isn’t all that much romance. It doesn’t become a major focus beyond a couple of friendly conversations and letters. If the romance had taken up a bit more of the story, I don’t think I would have minded all that much. Both Archie and Völger were very likeable young men.
Plot: The storyline has a very linear, day-to-day progression. There is no specific plot, no villains beyond a couple of people in Ellen’s village who are especially zealous in their hatred for the Germans. The Reader just follows Ellen along at this iconic moment in time. It’s what I like to call a “lifetime story.” Which makes it a very relaxing read. There isn’t a complicated, fast-paced, twisty storyline to keep track of, and sometimes that can be nice. The story picks up a bit more in pace when Ellen goes to France, but it is still a pretty easy stroll.
Believability: I have nothing to complain about when it comes to historical fact and physical wounds. The Author seems to know quite well what he is talking about. His portrayals of Ellen’s family coping with Jack’s broken spirit after he returns from the front is realistic and heart-wrenching, and his imagery of the war itself brings it to stark reality for the Reader.
Writing Style: The narration is in present-tense, but the majority of the story is, in fact, Ellen flashing back to something that happened earlier in the day, so most of it is actually in present-tense, and sort of reads like a journal. I happen to really like stories told in the form of a journal, and with this it worked quite well.
Content: The Author isn’t graphic with the violence of WWI, except in a couple of scenes. But when Ellen goes to the hospital in France, it does become a bit of a brutal read.
Conclusion: I liked that the story actually ended on a foreshadowing of what is to come in later years - that is, World War II. My thoughts of the book overall are: it was a good, relaxing fiction set in an era that has always fascinated me. While Ellen isn’t the most memorable protagonist, she does become more so as the story progresses, and she is never unlikable. It’s an excellent read for a rainy day when you kind of want a bittersweet historical fiction that doesn’t have a complicated storyline. I enjoyed it immensely.
Recommended Audience: Girl-read, fans of “the war at home” stories - that is, stories that take place in WWI or WWII, but mostly occur in England, and not on the battlefront. Appropriate for ages fourteen and up.
Characters: Ellen doesn’t start out as a very memorable protagonist. She’s neither unlikable nor especially lovable; just average. The sort of person who you say, “Oh, yeah, I like her.” Someone who doesn’t leave an especially deep impression on you. But as the story progresses, she begins to stand out more, especially when she goes to France as a wartime nurse, and her strong, caring, and brave personality takes front and center.
The Romance: While Ellen has a sweetheart - Archie - who goes off to war, and then later befriends Völger, a wounded German soldier at the war hospital, there isn’t all that much romance. It doesn’t become a major focus beyond a couple of friendly conversations and letters. If the romance had taken up a bit more of the story, I don’t think I would have minded all that much. Both Archie and Völger were very likeable young men.
Plot: The storyline has a very linear, day-to-day progression. There is no specific plot, no villains beyond a couple of people in Ellen’s village who are especially zealous in their hatred for the Germans. The Reader just follows Ellen along at this iconic moment in time. It’s what I like to call a “lifetime story.” Which makes it a very relaxing read. There isn’t a complicated, fast-paced, twisty storyline to keep track of, and sometimes that can be nice. The story picks up a bit more in pace when Ellen goes to France, but it is still a pretty easy stroll.
Believability: I have nothing to complain about when it comes to historical fact and physical wounds. The Author seems to know quite well what he is talking about. His portrayals of Ellen’s family coping with Jack’s broken spirit after he returns from the front is realistic and heart-wrenching, and his imagery of the war itself brings it to stark reality for the Reader.
Writing Style: The narration is in present-tense, but the majority of the story is, in fact, Ellen flashing back to something that happened earlier in the day, so most of it is actually in present-tense, and sort of reads like a journal. I happen to really like stories told in the form of a journal, and with this it worked quite well.
Content: The Author isn’t graphic with the violence of WWI, except in a couple of scenes. But when Ellen goes to the hospital in France, it does become a bit of a brutal read.
Conclusion: I liked that the story actually ended on a foreshadowing of what is to come in later years - that is, World War II. My thoughts of the book overall are: it was a good, relaxing fiction set in an era that has always fascinated me. While Ellen isn’t the most memorable protagonist, she does become more so as the story progresses, and she is never unlikable. It’s an excellent read for a rainy day when you kind of want a bittersweet historical fiction that doesn’t have a complicated storyline. I enjoyed it immensely.
Recommended Audience: Girl-read, fans of “the war at home” stories - that is, stories that take place in WWI or WWII, but mostly occur in England, and not on the battlefront. Appropriate for ages fourteen and up.
August 12, 2019
Hamley does an excellent job of painting a picture of life in England during the first world world war.
November 9, 2010
This book told me about how a war can affect people in many ways- and from the eyes of Ellen, a girl who witnesses her side of the war. The thing that I liked from this book was that it described the way how people felt in a certain state realisticly and vividly. I personally like the character of Ellen's brother Jack, who apparently lost his leg in the army while attacking the germans. At first, he is devastated by himself being a burden to the family, and tries to commit suicide in a lake close by at night. However, with the help of Ellen, who took on his burden to listen to his stories, Jack comes back to his formal self and does what he can do. I thought he was brave, because if I was the one who witnessed all the tragic incidents of war, I would always have suffered, never able to look at the world in a positive way again.
Ellen eventually becomes a nurse after she meets a boy named Archie when she worked as a maid for a while in a small dance held in the house. Archie was a soldier, and Ellen liked him as a good friend, even though he might have died. They depart in London after seeing a movie together, and unfortunately, Archie dies in the war.
The relationship between people by people makes the plots of the story closer to truth. The story is in a first- person narrative(Ellen) but it is not only her story, it is the stories of one who witnesses the WW2, something that cannot be stopped by a single person.
Ellen eventually becomes a nurse after she meets a boy named Archie when she worked as a maid for a while in a small dance held in the house. Archie was a soldier, and Ellen liked him as a good friend, even though he might have died. They depart in London after seeing a movie together, and unfortunately, Archie dies in the war.
The relationship between people by people makes the plots of the story closer to truth. The story is in a first- person narrative(Ellen) but it is not only her story, it is the stories of one who witnesses the WW2, something that cannot be stopped by a single person.
July 31, 2013
Sixteen-year-old Ellen Wilkins is a working class girl living in a small English village at the outbreak of World War I. Her brother enthusiastically enlists and the family must learn to cope without his wages. Ellen seeks employment from retired Col. Cripps, a former war hero. Her father resents the fact that she has to ask for a job from a "toff" but Ellen finds the Colonel kind and sympathetic. Though he is unable to offer her a job, their meeting changes Ellen's life forever. As the war drags on and tragedy strikes, Ellen learns how to cope and realizes what she wants out of life. She has to find the courage to leave behind the world she knows and enter a new and vastly different one.
This is a coming-of-age novel told in the first person. It reads almost like a diary because the action is told to the reader by Ellen. My biggest complaint with the novel is that the story is told more than shown. It reads like a history lesson in places where it departs from Ellen's main storyline. The plot is interesting but gets rather melodramatic at times. I found myself rooting for Ellen though and couldn't put the book down. The story holds nothing back as far as the atrocities of war and is a bit gruesome. I do not recommend this book for younger readers and those who might be sensitive. I would recommend it to high school history teachers and to those who liked Remembrance by Theresa Breslin.
This is a coming-of-age novel told in the first person. It reads almost like a diary because the action is told to the reader by Ellen. My biggest complaint with the novel is that the story is told more than shown. It reads like a history lesson in places where it departs from Ellen's main storyline. The plot is interesting but gets rather melodramatic at times. I found myself rooting for Ellen though and couldn't put the book down. The story holds nothing back as far as the atrocities of war and is a bit gruesome. I do not recommend this book for younger readers and those who might be sensitive. I would recommend it to high school history teachers and to those who liked Remembrance by Theresa Breslin.
August 16, 2015
Loved the way you could see Ellen mature with each of her experiences and her initial perspective on the war. It was wonderful to see a different view offered in a more accessible way for a younger audience encouraging them to question war instead of just separating it into the 'good guys' and the 'bad'. Although at times a little cliché, this was a great little book that was nice to stumble across.
December 19, 2013
Good but it missed out a lot of the best bits I know it fits the whole war into a little book about a girl but you don't go 'I'm going to london tomorrow' then 'London was great' but it was still a good wartime read :)
February 6, 2008
This book was a nice story, but long and slow going. If you have a lot of spare time, go ahead and read it. I didn't find anything spectacular about it, but it was tepidly 'nice'.
December 26, 2011
Good historical, youth fiction revolving around WWI in England and how it effects a little village and one family as they suffer when Ellen's brother comes back from the was with his leg amputated.
July 10, 2022
I loved it , normally I don't read historical fiction but this book was great, encourags me to read more from this genere
July 12, 2009
Wow. Other than being rather depressing this was really good.
July 6, 2010
Average
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews