A Perfect Stranger

by Victor Pemberton

An evocative saga of the difficult decisions facing women alone in wartime London
.For young couples like Ruth Madiewsky and Tom Phillips, the advent of the Second World War changes everything. So, when Tom proposes to Ruth during seven days leave, despite being only twenty, Ruth says yes. After all, who knows if they'll ever see each other again? But, after Tom goes back to the front, Ruth doesn't hear from him again. Is he missing, presumed dead? Or, even worse, has he just forgotten about her? Ruth is forced to get on with her life and finds herself enjoying attention from another. It is this temptation which threatens to alter Ruth's life forever, and, when, the war is finally over, she will find the battle for her own personal freedom and safety has just begun...

480 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2002

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Supritha · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable and easy read, though occasionally found the British slang challenging. I really liked the strong-willed Ruth and her struggles regarding her relationship with Tom before considering moving on with Mike.

Among all the characters, I particularly appreciated Rita's development. She begins as a self-absorbed gossip who causes trouble for those around her, which ultimately leads to her own downfall, but by the end, she makes an effort to change.

[Kay Charles · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect read

This book is full of love tragedies and excellent research I feel has gone into this book. Could not put I down

[Sarah1983 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Set in London during the second world war and a fairly typical book for the genre really. Tells the story of Ruth, a young half Polish woman who gets engaged to her boyfriend Tom before he heads off to war. When he goes missing and presumed dead Ruth starts to move on with her life.

An easy and enjoyable read with a little bit more to it than usual for the genre. There’s a fair bit of angst over whether or not Tom is dead, whether Ruth should wait for proof either way before moving on, the judgemental neighbour who goes out of her way to be nasty to her. And then there’s the drama towards the end of the book which is a bit unusual for the genre, or at least the books I've read so far! It made a nice change in a way.