Gwendoline

by Jeremy Bending

A story of love and tragedy

Gwendoline was brought up in the flat above her father’s shoe shop, one of eleven children. As a girl, she always had a desire to train as a nurse, but with her father adamantly against it, she was forced to wait until she was twenty-one to leave home.

After completing her training and falling in love with her darling Roy, Gwendoline was faced with the chaos of World War Two, the trials and tribulations of raising a family, and the harsh reality of living with severe depression.

Based on a true story, Gwendoline explores the challenges facing women in the 1900s, the struggles confronted by individuals suffering from mental health issues, and the devastating impact these issues can have on their families.

167 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 30, 2024

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A deep and heartfelt read. The descriptions in the book were sufficiently realistic and emotional. But the writing style was strange—it was written in the third person, which made it difficult to empathize with the characters. Again, I believe that having it told from Gwen's or a dual point of view would have been beneficial. However, the narrative gained more feeling and empathy when we learned that it was based on a true story.

**Thank you NetGalley and Cranthorpe Millner Publishers for the opportunity to review this book.**

[Ink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gwendoline by Jeremy Bending is a quick read, but one of great empathy and care. I almost had to imagine it being told from the perspective of an observer than from the perspective of the protagonist or other actors within the storyline

Based on a true story, it reflects on the sensibilities and challenges of the times and how everything began to change due to global conflict and developing social attitudes. It is a good story and one told with great compassion

Thank you to Netgalley, Cranthorpe Millner Publishers and the author Jeremy Bending for this heartfelt ARC. My review is left voluntarily and all opinions are my own

[☆ emmy ☆]

‼️ DNF ‼️

Idk if I'm just not smart enough to read historical fiction or what but every time I try to get into this genre, it doesn't work out for me.

As for this book specifically though, it really was lacking all the things to hook me: no plot, extremely slow writing style, and no chemistry between characters. I really wanted to finish this one, since it's only 150 pages, but I just couldn't do it.

[Linda Lawrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not so sure about this novel being written in the third person. I would have enjoyed it more if I had heard Gwendoline’s voice. I was so sad from her being an amazing nurse, extremely capable and then becoming so unwell with mental health issues later in life I became very frustrated professional help was not sought for her but perhaps that was what happened in the 1970s. I found myself shouting out please get help for Gwen
All in all a good novel.