What do you think?
Rate this book
Easterleigh Hall at War
The second novel in a compelling new series set in County Durham just before and during the First World War.England is at war and Easterleigh Hall has been turned into a hospital for the duration of the hostilities. With its army of volunteers and wounded servicemen, cook Evie Forbes is determined that everyone will be properly provided for, despite the threat of rationing and dwindling supplies. All the while she waits for letters from her fiancé and beloved brother, fighting on the Western Front. Then the worst happens – a telegram arrives with shattering news. And Evie wonders if she’ll have the strength to carry on…
450 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 21, 2015
6 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Graham
87 books23 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Margaret Graham is a bestselling author and has been writing for 30 years. Margaret's novels have been published in the UK, Europe and the USA. Margaret has written two plays, co-researched a television documentary - which grew out of Canopy of Silence, and has written numerous short stories and features.
Margaret Graham is a bestselling author and has been writing for 30 years. Margaret's novels have been published in the UK, Europe and the USA. Margaret has written two plays, co-researched a television documentary - which grew out of Canopy of Silence, and has written numerous short stories and features.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 13, 2022
I really like this book despite the fact that characters is either black or white with no shades at all.
However the descriptions of Great war are extremely vivid and it reminds that doesn't matter what century it happens it is still a horrible crime.
However the descriptions of Great war are extremely vivid and it reminds that doesn't matter what century it happens it is still a horrible crime.
May 12, 2017
Maybe 3.5 stars.
October 20, 2020
Very interesting with a different perspective on the First World War
May 20, 2015
A stirring, emotional and compelling saga set during the First World War, Easterleigh Hall at War is the second enthralling installment of Margaret Graham’s spellbinding historical series about the formidable Evie Forbes.
The war has brought a lot of changes to the inhabitants of Easterleigh Hell, a magnificent stately home in the heart of County Durham. Transformed into a hospital for wounded soldiers doing their duty for king and country, Easterleigh Hall is run with precision by a formidable woman who has been fighting to be the mistress of her own destiny all of her life: Evie Forbes. Although Evie has achieved her lifelong dream of becoming a cook, she has known her fair share of heartache – and the declaration of war looks set to heap further anguish and sorrow upon her shoulders...
Despite the constant challenges being thrown her way, Evie is adamant that the staff, families and patients residing at the Hall will not go without for the duration of the war. With dwindling supplies and the ever present threat of rationing hovering on the horizon, the resourceful cook has vowed to keep her standards up and everyone at the Hall well fed, but with the conflict showing no signs of abating and the enemy claiming more and more victims, Evie soon realises that she has got more pressing problems to worry about than paltry provisions.
Nothing would make Evie happier than to have her beloved brother Jack and Simon, the man she loves with all of her heart, safe and healthy back in England. With the two most important men in her life away in France fighting to vanquish the enemy, Evie lives in constant fear of receiving a telegram informing her of their demise. Despite trying her hardest to keep her mind off thinking about the atrocities which Jack and Simon are facing, Evie cannot stop herself from worrying about whether she will ever see them again or if the war will claim her chance of happiness.
When the worst happens and a telegram arrives with earth-shattering news, Evie is heartbroken and absolutely devastated. All her hopes and dreams have been crushed to smithereens and she wonders whether she will ever find happiness again. Will she manage to find the courage and the strength to triumph over all the obstacles standing in her way? Or has her spirit been irrevocably crushed by this tragic twist of fate?
Easterleigh Hall At War is a wonderful tale of love, loss, redemption and salvation that will hold readers in thrall from start to finish! Margaret Graham is an exceptional storyteller who effortlessly transports her readers back to the past with her vivid, atmospheric and evocative descriptions of life in the early years of the twentieth century on the homefront in England and deep in the trenches.
Margaret Graham’s characters are richly drawn, believable and beautifully rendered and it is impossible not to care about them. Evie is a fantastic heroine and her strength, sensitivity and spirit will strike a chord with women everywhere and have them cheering her on to find the happiness she so richly deserves.
A first-rate saga readers will want to read again and again, Easterleigh Hall At War is an outstanding historical novel that is as hard to put down as it is to forget!
The war has brought a lot of changes to the inhabitants of Easterleigh Hell, a magnificent stately home in the heart of County Durham. Transformed into a hospital for wounded soldiers doing their duty for king and country, Easterleigh Hall is run with precision by a formidable woman who has been fighting to be the mistress of her own destiny all of her life: Evie Forbes. Although Evie has achieved her lifelong dream of becoming a cook, she has known her fair share of heartache – and the declaration of war looks set to heap further anguish and sorrow upon her shoulders...
Despite the constant challenges being thrown her way, Evie is adamant that the staff, families and patients residing at the Hall will not go without for the duration of the war. With dwindling supplies and the ever present threat of rationing hovering on the horizon, the resourceful cook has vowed to keep her standards up and everyone at the Hall well fed, but with the conflict showing no signs of abating and the enemy claiming more and more victims, Evie soon realises that she has got more pressing problems to worry about than paltry provisions.
Nothing would make Evie happier than to have her beloved brother Jack and Simon, the man she loves with all of her heart, safe and healthy back in England. With the two most important men in her life away in France fighting to vanquish the enemy, Evie lives in constant fear of receiving a telegram informing her of their demise. Despite trying her hardest to keep her mind off thinking about the atrocities which Jack and Simon are facing, Evie cannot stop herself from worrying about whether she will ever see them again or if the war will claim her chance of happiness.
When the worst happens and a telegram arrives with earth-shattering news, Evie is heartbroken and absolutely devastated. All her hopes and dreams have been crushed to smithereens and she wonders whether she will ever find happiness again. Will she manage to find the courage and the strength to triumph over all the obstacles standing in her way? Or has her spirit been irrevocably crushed by this tragic twist of fate?
Easterleigh Hall At War is a wonderful tale of love, loss, redemption and salvation that will hold readers in thrall from start to finish! Margaret Graham is an exceptional storyteller who effortlessly transports her readers back to the past with her vivid, atmospheric and evocative descriptions of life in the early years of the twentieth century on the homefront in England and deep in the trenches.
Margaret Graham’s characters are richly drawn, believable and beautifully rendered and it is impossible not to care about them. Evie is a fantastic heroine and her strength, sensitivity and spirit will strike a chord with women everywhere and have them cheering her on to find the happiness she so richly deserves.
A first-rate saga readers will want to read again and again, Easterleigh Hall At War is an outstanding historical novel that is as hard to put down as it is to forget!
November 7, 2016
This whole Easterleigh Hall series is brilliant - taking us through 1st and 2nd world wars, the strikes and Moseley's Blackshirts. What it was like to live through these times is shared with the reader in fantastic detail - the food, the work, everything, and all weaved around brilliant and gripping stories. What an enjoyable way to learn history
February 16, 2016
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. A really good read.
April 22, 2017
This is an easy comfortable read and found it nice to escape into the world of Easterleigh.
This book is set in Durham in the years during the Great War. This book has a bit of ‘Downton’ about it but it is more captivating in my opinion.
The characters are well drawn and interesting and I was invested in their stories. Evie continues as 'Joan of Arc' and 'Mother Theresa' rolled into one. I still enjoyed the progress of the novel and how the characters develop. I felt sorry in a way for the character of Millie as noone could live up to Saint Evie. I would recommend and am moving onto Book 3.
This book is set in Durham in the years during the Great War. This book has a bit of ‘Downton’ about it but it is more captivating in my opinion.
The characters are well drawn and interesting and I was invested in their stories. Evie continues as 'Joan of Arc' and 'Mother Theresa' rolled into one. I still enjoyed the progress of the novel and how the characters develop. I felt sorry in a way for the character of Millie as noone could live up to Saint Evie. I would recommend and am moving onto Book 3.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews