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Seasons of War #1
Summer's End
Summer, 1914.
Change is coming as swiftly as the seasons themselves. And the catalyst is the arrival of Aunt Tilly . . .
Preparations for the wedding of the Rector’s eldest daughter, Isobel Lilley, are well underway. The Rectory larders are full to the brim. The bridesmaids’ dresses fitted and pressed. The bridal gown allotted a room of its own. The only thing missing is Aunt Tilly.
But little does the Lilley family know, the arrival of Aunt Tilly will spark a chain of events that threatens to tear the village of Ashden apart.
When the dark clouds of war reach Ashden, Isobel and her sisters face daunting personal and social changes. Women of all classes are called upon to rise to the challenges of war and the Lilley family find themselves facing a new world that brings both tragedy and newfound freedom.
The whole village comes together in the face of adversity, but Aunt Tilly takes it one step too far, putting the stability of the Rectory in jeopardy.
Can the Lilley family survive Aunt Tilly’s visit and the outbreak of war?
Change is coming as swiftly as the seasons themselves. And the catalyst is the arrival of Aunt Tilly . . .
Preparations for the wedding of the Rector’s eldest daughter, Isobel Lilley, are well underway. The Rectory larders are full to the brim. The bridesmaids’ dresses fitted and pressed. The bridal gown allotted a room of its own. The only thing missing is Aunt Tilly.
But little does the Lilley family know, the arrival of Aunt Tilly will spark a chain of events that threatens to tear the village of Ashden apart.
When the dark clouds of war reach Ashden, Isobel and her sisters face daunting personal and social changes. Women of all classes are called upon to rise to the challenges of war and the Lilley family find themselves facing a new world that brings both tragedy and newfound freedom.
The whole village comes together in the face of adversity, but Aunt Tilly takes it one step too far, putting the stability of the Rectory in jeopardy.
Can the Lilley family survive Aunt Tilly’s visit and the outbreak of war?
432 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 1996
487 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 15, 2025
Life and love
How fortunate we are to have both love and family. This sweet story brings it all to life. Yes there are many setbacks, sorrows and joys but a life that has known love should never forget it. This sweet story helps to encourage us to be thankful for the love we are sent from people in our lives. Please read this.
How fortunate we are to have both love and family. This sweet story brings it all to life. Yes there are many setbacks, sorrows and joys but a life that has known love should never forget it. This sweet story helps to encourage us to be thankful for the love we are sent from people in our lives. Please read this.
October 13, 2024
DNF
Ye gods, I can't do this. The endless religiosity and lack of anything happening for so long, plus the apparent distance to reach the ends makes this interminable bore undoable. 😕
Ye gods, I can't do this. The endless religiosity and lack of anything happening for so long, plus the apparent distance to reach the ends makes this interminable bore undoable. 😕
October 17, 2024
Historical fiction is a favorite of mine. This story is set in the time with the onset of WWI. Class separation was a deeply ingrained factor in English culture. It's hard to imagine from an American point of view.
April 9, 2026
I just could not get into this book ! Too many people I could not work out who was related to who , had to keep flipping back to work it out. Gave up in the end before I got quarter of the way through.
June 29, 2018
Enjoyable
Fast paced, loved the developing pace of all the characters and hearing their progress. Looking forward to the next book now
Fast paced, loved the developing pace of all the characters and hearing their progress. Looking forward to the next book now
November 18, 2024
Good story
Spoiled to some extent by grammatical errors and sloppy composition. It just needs a good editor to streamline the whole thing and eliminate the errors.
Spoiled to some extent by grammatical errors and sloppy composition. It just needs a good editor to streamline the whole thing and eliminate the errors.
February 2, 2025
A lovely story with delightful characters and a beautiful setting. I could imagine living in the village and sharing the lives of the Rectory family.
September 5, 2025
Didn’t enjoy this book at all wasn’t for me
January 8, 2017
This is a pleasant read that is built around the complexities of relationships, the Gentry, the Women’s Movement in a small village of England and WW1. The manner in which the effects of WW1 have the startling realisations of the horrors of war that befell European countries, in particular Belgium and France, areas that I have trodden in paying my respects to all fallen soldiers are well described. The reader is taken to the battlefield in only a small manner, returning to the village of Ashton where the absurdities play out, the class distinction, the discrimination of women, the fear of non English speaking refugees (which is still is a blight in 2017) and the fantasy that the small channel of water between the UK and France would protect them from German invasion. Ashden is a village of innocence, still using oil for lighting, the telephone treated with suspicion, only the Gentry with motor cars, most either walking or horse and sulky, sex discrimination and the inhumane manner in which unwed mothers are treated and the looming Irish wars all form part of this read. The author has created in comprehensive detail so much that helped to bring so much change to life as was known prior to WW1. I hope there will be a sequel, I could have read more.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews