Golden Lads and Girls

by Angela Lambert

Just occasionally it happens that children fall in love--a strange and innocent love, full of emotional intensity and the source of lifelong, radiant memories. Such a love occurs in 1911 between Hermione, a nine-year-old girl, and Sandy, her eleven-year old neighbour. Both children live in large houses on adjoining estates and they spend two unforgettable summers together before being forcibly separated by their parents. After a lifetime apart they find each other again. Can they rediscover their childhood selves? This original and touching novel is an extraordinary love story which ponders universal questions of love, secrets and inheritance.

Genres: Fiction

416 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Angela Maria Lambert was a British journalist and author. She is best known for her novels A Rather English Marriage and Kiss and Kin, the latter of which won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award.

Reviews

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this with no great expectations but was gradually drawn in. The description of the relationship between the two neighbouring children was quite delightful. There was no doubt of the innocence and certainty of their love for each other.
It has been a while since I read anything that dealt with life during WWII in England and I found that interesting. Liked the way that Hermione rolled up her sleeves and entered into the war-time spirit, doing what needed to be done in a straightforward manner.
The mean-spirited and selfish character of Phoebe was irritating. (Cannot imagine how I came to read to sequential books that included a Phoebe. How unusual is that?)
The characters are clearly drawn and apart from Phoebe not overstated. I enjoyed the passages describing life of the almost upper classes in the period; a gentally different genre from my usual heavy crime novels.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sweet but sad book dealing with regret and loss set across many decades during the last century. A young boy and girl become inseperable friends during the summer of 1911, but soon their parents put a stop to their intense relationship and their paths do not cross again for many years, when they discover how their lives have differed.

[Clodagh · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit boring