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Home for Christmas
She has eyes for her best friend’s man . . . Set during World War I, this Christmas saga from Lizzie Lane is moving, warm, and utterly charming. Lydia, a wealthy daughter of a German doctor, and Agnes, an illegitimate child brought up as a maid, are as different as you can get, yet they strike up an unlikely friendship. When war is declared in 1914 the girls find themselves contributing the war effort when they volunteer for the Red Cross. But after her father is attacked, Lydia’s fears are brought to her family will move back to Germany—meaning she must call off her engagement with her sweetheart Robert, who couldn’t possibly marry a girl with German heritage. Meanwhile, Agnes meets a handsome doctor. But can she be with him after she’s already fallen for someone she can’t have? But as the war wages on, the most important question is on their minds—will they make it home for Christmas?
432 pages, Paperback
First published October 23, 2014
12 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
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January 22, 2016An easy read but not very memorable!
December 13, 2017
A wonderful historical novel with a festive twist.
Lydia Miller is half English and half German and when the First World War breaks out her training as a nurse leads others to think her sympathies will be divided but Lydia is staunch in her morals about nursing anyone who needs it just as she is as staunch in her love for her sweetheart Robert and her father and friend Agnes but with the political climate and turmoil shattering their world can they ever find happiness in a time so divided and can they ever make it "home for Christmas...?"
A must read for fans of historical and war fiction.
Lydia Miller is half English and half German and when the First World War breaks out her training as a nurse leads others to think her sympathies will be divided but Lydia is staunch in her morals about nursing anyone who needs it just as she is as staunch in her love for her sweetheart Robert and her father and friend Agnes but with the political climate and turmoil shattering their world can they ever find happiness in a time so divided and can they ever make it "home for Christmas...?"
A must read for fans of historical and war fiction.
Read
April 12, 2016This is one of those books that could have really benefited from a strong editor. I tried so hard to make it through 25% of the book before giving up but I just couldn't do it.
October 15, 2018
Definitely Added To My New Found Love Of Historical Fiction From The WWI & WWII Eras. Not Actually Focused On Christmas Which Is What Had Appealed To Me But A Good Read
June 21, 2022
Until now, I have only read Lizzie Lane's Tobacco Girls series and have enjoyed them so much that I simply had to dive into this exciting and intriguing read. Unlike the Tobacco Girls, SECRETS AND SINS (previously published as
"Home for Christmas"
) is not set in the author's native Bristol. Instead it is set mainly in London with a little bit of a country estate and plenty of Belgium and France during the Great War.
Lydia Miller is the daughter of an English mother and a German father, although she was born and raised in Britain she speaks both languages fluently. Her father, Dr Eric Miller, is a well-respected doctor in London working in and around the Lutheran hospital in which German staff treat people of all race, colour and nationality. It is the same hospital in which Lydia is training to become a nurse.
When her father is called upon Sir Avis Ravening, the old man takes such a liking to him that he invites Lydia and her father to stay at his country estate over Christmas. Lydia is overjoyed as Christmas Eve is her birthday and it has never once celebrated as it was also the day her mother died giving birth to her - a source of great pain to her father. Lydia meets precocious and feisty young Agnes Stacey, the cook's daughter, who has ideas well above her station and her eye on Sir Avis' nephew Robert. The two young women become firm friends despite the difference in their classes - Lydia being middle class and Agnes, working.
And then Lydia meets Robert Ravening. As soon as the two set eyes on one another, there is frisson between them - a spark and mutual attraction - much to the envy of Agnes. The couple spent stolen moments together as often as they could with the thrill of promises for the future. With the unrest in Europe, Robert proposes marriage as soon as possible but Lydia wants to complete her training and hang on to her independence a while longer.
And then war erupts...taking with it all hope and any dreams for the future.
Robert enlists as an aviator of the new fangled flying machines with the Royal Flying Corp and Lydia decides to put her nursing skills to good use at the Front. But she is half German, the enemy of Britain. What does war mean for both her and her father, who is German?
While Agnes has enlisted as an Ambulance driver, Lydia is determined to do her bit to help those in need at the Front. So she joins the Red Cross who are neutral. But what will happen when she is there amidst the injured soldiers and her heritage is discovered? Will she be seen as a traitor to her country? To Britain? To Germany? With whom is she aligned? Does either side see her as an ally or a foe? All Lydia wants to do is help injured men, British, German or French - it doesn't matter. She does not believe in the war - she only wants to help.
But tough times are ahead for Lydia...tougher than she could have envisioned. A war everyone thought would be over by Christmas continued for another four years, and at its end, brought with it the Spanish Flu...as if the war hadn't killed enough already.
By the time the war has ended, life is a whole lot different for everyone. But will it ever be the same again? And how will they get over their losses and the sacrifices made so that others may live?
Oh my! If I enjoyed the Tobacco Girls, I love SECRETS AND SINS! There is something metamorphosic about the Great War. It was meant to be the war to end all wars but instead it marked a vast change in direction for the classes and for women especially. The suffragette movement was in full force at the time war erupted but they paused their cause for the duration of the war only to pick up at its end with an even greater ferocity. It saw many changes come during that time.
I loved the story and the subplots entwined throughout. Lydia and Agnes' friendship was a genuine and loyal one despite the difference in their classes. The women were so completely different and yet they complemented each other. I loved the relationship between Lydia and Robert also, and my heart went out to both of them at the pain of separation which was inevitable during wartime. I thoroughly enjoyed all characters, especially Sir Avis despite being in for just a short time, with the exception of the dastardly Sylvester "Siggy" and Sir Avis' estranged and positively horrible wife Lady Julieta.
SECRETS AND SINS is an easy read that was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. I literally had tears in my eyes at the end. I was completely immersed within the story that I didn't want to leave. Such a delightful tale that had me entertained until the final page.
A must-read for fans of historical fiction sagas and wartime fiction.
This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.
Lydia Miller is the daughter of an English mother and a German father, although she was born and raised in Britain she speaks both languages fluently. Her father, Dr Eric Miller, is a well-respected doctor in London working in and around the Lutheran hospital in which German staff treat people of all race, colour and nationality. It is the same hospital in which Lydia is training to become a nurse.
When her father is called upon Sir Avis Ravening, the old man takes such a liking to him that he invites Lydia and her father to stay at his country estate over Christmas. Lydia is overjoyed as Christmas Eve is her birthday and it has never once celebrated as it was also the day her mother died giving birth to her - a source of great pain to her father. Lydia meets precocious and feisty young Agnes Stacey, the cook's daughter, who has ideas well above her station and her eye on Sir Avis' nephew Robert. The two young women become firm friends despite the difference in their classes - Lydia being middle class and Agnes, working.
And then Lydia meets Robert Ravening. As soon as the two set eyes on one another, there is frisson between them - a spark and mutual attraction - much to the envy of Agnes. The couple spent stolen moments together as often as they could with the thrill of promises for the future. With the unrest in Europe, Robert proposes marriage as soon as possible but Lydia wants to complete her training and hang on to her independence a while longer.
And then war erupts...taking with it all hope and any dreams for the future.
Robert enlists as an aviator of the new fangled flying machines with the Royal Flying Corp and Lydia decides to put her nursing skills to good use at the Front. But she is half German, the enemy of Britain. What does war mean for both her and her father, who is German?
While Agnes has enlisted as an Ambulance driver, Lydia is determined to do her bit to help those in need at the Front. So she joins the Red Cross who are neutral. But what will happen when she is there amidst the injured soldiers and her heritage is discovered? Will she be seen as a traitor to her country? To Britain? To Germany? With whom is she aligned? Does either side see her as an ally or a foe? All Lydia wants to do is help injured men, British, German or French - it doesn't matter. She does not believe in the war - she only wants to help.
But tough times are ahead for Lydia...tougher than she could have envisioned. A war everyone thought would be over by Christmas continued for another four years, and at its end, brought with it the Spanish Flu...as if the war hadn't killed enough already.
By the time the war has ended, life is a whole lot different for everyone. But will it ever be the same again? And how will they get over their losses and the sacrifices made so that others may live?
Oh my! If I enjoyed the Tobacco Girls, I love SECRETS AND SINS! There is something metamorphosic about the Great War. It was meant to be the war to end all wars but instead it marked a vast change in direction for the classes and for women especially. The suffragette movement was in full force at the time war erupted but they paused their cause for the duration of the war only to pick up at its end with an even greater ferocity. It saw many changes come during that time.
I loved the story and the subplots entwined throughout. Lydia and Agnes' friendship was a genuine and loyal one despite the difference in their classes. The women were so completely different and yet they complemented each other. I loved the relationship between Lydia and Robert also, and my heart went out to both of them at the pain of separation which was inevitable during wartime. I thoroughly enjoyed all characters, especially Sir Avis despite being in for just a short time, with the exception of the dastardly Sylvester "Siggy" and Sir Avis' estranged and positively horrible wife Lady Julieta.
SECRETS AND SINS is an easy read that was both heartbreaking and heartwarming. I literally had tears in my eyes at the end. I was completely immersed within the story that I didn't want to leave. Such a delightful tale that had me entertained until the final page.
A must-read for fans of historical fiction sagas and wartime fiction.
This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.
January 15, 2022
A story of the class system in Britain and how of being of German origins was perfectly accepted before the 'Great War' but as soon as war is declared the very people you nursed, as a doctor for the father and a nurse for the daughter, suddenly become the enemy.
The ups and downs of Lydia Miller and how she hung on to her dream of marrying the love of her life, Robert, who was the nephew of a Lord.
A nice and easy tale to read snuggled up on the settee with a blanket and a cuppa.
The ups and downs of Lydia Miller and how she hung on to her dream of marrying the love of her life, Robert, who was the nephew of a Lord.
A nice and easy tale to read snuggled up on the settee with a blanket and a cuppa.
May 17, 2019
Very enjoyable book. Just a note, it was nothing about christmas which is fine. Still a good book
January 31, 2020
Couldn't put it down till I finished it
Any one who loves a good story during the war years,it would make you think you were almost there as you read the book
Any one who loves a good story during the war years,it would make you think you were almost there as you read the book
June 8, 2020
great book!
January 10, 2015
Good ww1 novel. It is not focused on Christmas.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews