Strawberry Fields

by Katie Flynn

Christmas Day 1924.When twelve-year-old Sara Cordwainer, the unloved child of rich and fashionable parents, sees a ragged girl with a baby in her arms outside her church, she stops to talk to her, pressing her collection money into the girl's icy hand. But from this generous act comes a tragedy which will haunt her for years.When, years later, Sara meets Brogan, a young Irishman working in England, she feels she has found a friend at last. But Brogan has a secret which he dare tell no one, not even Sara.And in a Dublin slum, Brogan's little sister Polly is growing up. The only girl in a family of boys, she knows herself to be much loved, but it is not until Sara begins to work at the Salvation Army children's home, Strawberry Fields, that the two girls meet - and Brogan's secret is told at last...

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Katie Flynn was born in Norwich and attended Norwich High School, where she was extremely happy and extremely undistinguished. Published at the tender age of eight, in Enid Blyton's Sunny Stories, she joined a Writers’ Circle as an adult, publishing short stories, articles, etc; only turning to novels in 1971 because the postal strike cut off her main source of income!
At first she wrote under several different names – Judith Saxton, Judy Turner, Lydia Balmain, Judith Arden – but her Katie Flynn books were a delight to write and proved far more popular than she had dreamed. She has now published nearly ninety novels, twenty-seven of which are Flynns. Her most recent titles are: Lost Days of Summer and Christmas Wishes.

Reviews

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book couldn't put this book down,I felt for the characters heart warming story.

[Shirley Revill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. Storytelling at it's best.

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sara Cordwainer is very well off, she comes from a wealthy family but is very unloved by her aristocratic and aloof parents so when she sees a young girl with a small child in her arms she is moved to give her some money and a pair of gloves to put on the baby's icy cold feet, so starts a chain of events that ensure that in a way the fates of those two girls and Sara are inextricably entwined.
When later she meets a lovely young Irishman named Brogan he is an unwitting link to those two girls but he holds a secret about them that he is so afraid of being found out that he is unable to even confide in Sara.
Back home in Dublin Brogan's little sister Polly is living her life under the shadow of this secret but one day in the future Sara and Polly are destined to meet and the deep hidden family secret is about to come out...
A wonderfully written and sweeping family saga told across the generations and tells of how one person's kindness can totally alter the path of another person's life.
A great and enthralling read in the style of Cookson and Cox and will appeal to period novel fans in general.

[Chrissie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read.

[Elizabeth Cleland · Rating 5 out of 5]

lovely story!

Enjoyed this book such a lovely and interesting book . Such a well written story and lovely ending. Shows how easily problems arise!

[Marren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed the way the author took her time to tell this story. Normally, I would stubbornly quarrel when two persons were in the same vicinity and bypass each other unwares but I am not sure if it is my mood or the author's technique but I felt all the circling around the bush has its special purpose.

It is a comforting read which makes me even more sensitive to the plight of girls especially in regards to neglect by parents. I am normally a huge romance reader but I am happy that this story did not make the love story between Sara and Brogan too heavy. As a matter of fact, I felt that the love between the two happen to come along but the issue of Love and Family Relationship, Poverty, Neglect, Economic Depression, Migration etc were the focal point.

There is some more that I want to point out but not sure how tactful to not have spoiler links jotting out every line. I a fan of happy endings, I am a fan of suffering ending, I am a fan of hold on it will be over. I was not a fan when the last line came to am end. A heartwarming story of families mending and healing or losing out in the end. I want this story to stay on my heart. I wish there were more fathers like Mr. Peader O'Brady whose love for his wife and family made him an even more loving man who raise men of valour.

[Maeg Lim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strawberry Fields
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Poverty. Neglected children. Greedy wealthy. Religion. Adoption. Death. Service. Love. Friendship. Moving out. Working abroad. Physical abuse.

I LOVE BROGAN. I appreciate that the author didn’t focus on Brogan and Sara’s love story. Even if Sara & Brogan didn’t talk for years, their love for each other didn’t change.

I just think emotions lack as the book is about to end. Polly and Grace’s meeting.

To be honest, I didn’t enjoy the guardian angel part. I think it was kinda long.

I realized that both poor and wealthy children can be neglected by their parents. It’s not always about money. Love is important.

I became more aware of the poorests’ situation. Some are starving 6/7 days! Some needed to run away from their homes because of physical abuse. The children were able to collect money of food and they needed to hide their food from their drunk father because he’d always eat like a lion and not leave for his family.

I enjoyed reading this! I will buy more Katie Flynn books!

PS I also love that it isnt heavy. Maggie Ford’s stories are kinda heavy, have trigger warning stories

[Linda Leedham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t disappointed with this book at all. It was captivating, heartwarming, and upsetting at times, I particularly liked the Irish family and wished that the ending could have happened sooner. It was a book that I didn’t want to end and wanted to here more is there a follow on book to this . If so I will look forward to reading it . Katie described the individuals so well that I felt I could actually see the people in the story as if I was part of it . I could certainly recommend this book.

[dave jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant read

Really enjoyed the book as always more than deserves the 5 star rating although I would have liked Polly and Grace to have found out the truth about one another.

[Jane Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic Read

Katie Flynn has excelled herself in this book. Christianity can cause problems when you fall in love with someone who is not the same religion but you can always find a way to overcome things.

[Kavya Bhat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mixed feelings about this one. Ticks the boxes for character development but doesn't do much for the plot. Surprisingly enjoyed the read even though more than 75% of the book focuses on setting the stage for the two main characters to meet.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Polly’s angel was one of my favourite books from Katie Flynn. I had no idea I would visit Polly in this book. This book was a cozy read. I laughed at certain parts where Tad and Polly are joking with each other. Loved the O’brady family in general. Loved Brogan as well.

[Annette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Felt it was predictable but it still kept you hooked and wanting to read more.

[Maureen mcguin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uplifting

A feel good read, even though there were bleak times for the characters a good end for all was never in doubt

[pamela norman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful, just like a breath of fresh air

[Gloria Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

2nd time reading this book and enjoyed it

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good characterisation. Little bits repeated, not sure why. Enjoyable on the whole

[Bluflame]

When my mum got this book for me, I found it hard to just stop reading.This book is amazing.

[Layla · Rating 5 out of 5]

another good book by katie had this as a paper back will update to kindle.

[Alisa Yancey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking for a story about the children of Strawberry Fields (Beatles song)

[Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant fantastic story telling about poverty neglect and how having an open heart to kindness brings good opportunities

[Julie Eccleston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Griping storyline

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having been the first book by author Katie Flynn that I read, I found it to be very enjoyable, slightly predictable maybe, but nonetheless very pleasant. Twelve-year-old Sara Cordwainer, is the unloved child of rich and fashionable parents. On Christmas Day, 1924, she stops to talk to a ragged girl with a baby in her arms outside her church. After a brief chat she takes pity on them , and gives them her collection money. But from this generous act comes a tragedy which will haunt her for years. When, years later, Sara meets Brogan, a young Irishman working in England, she feels she has found a friend at last. But Brogan has a secret which he dare tell no one, not even Sara.
And in a Dublin slum, Brogan's little sister Polly is growing up. The only girl in a family of boys, she knows herself to be much loved, but it is not until Sara begins to work at the Salvation Army children's home, Strawberry Fields, that the two girls meet - and Brogan's secret is told at last...
Set mainly in Liverpool (and Dublin) in the 1920s and 30s, I especially admired the way the author kept 3 or 4 separate threads running parallel to each other before finally verging into one happy ending.

It probably isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but if you just want a nice, pleasant, not too deep, happy ending of a story then I do recommend it most enthusiastically.

[Nancy Valentino · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected this book to be pretty bad because I bought it for *very cheap*. But in fact it was an enjoyable read.

Set over a number of years in depression-era England & Ireland, this novel is primarily an historical romance but it also has elements of the dramatic. I found it to be an engaging portrayal of the time although I can't judge the accuracy of the representation, since my knowledge about that era is pretty sparse.

I liked the characters although they were a bit "Mary Sue".

I guess I recommend it? It's not a brilliant read but it definitely didn't suck.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another good vacation/trip read.

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really catch on this book, was boring and the amount of times I thought I'd never get through it, this is the second K. Flynn book I've read and will not be reading anymore!

[Madison Mckibben]

i like this book a lot

[Claire Moss · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book although the story dragged a little and the ending seemed a tad rushed, I liked the history and the children involved made it heartwarming

[Bec Hof · Rating 4 out of 5]

book before polly's angel

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked the characters and plot. Found the ending a bit odd though.