What do you think?
Rate this book
We'll Meet Again
1940. London is facing the full wrath of the blitz and amid the chaos Sheila Phipps is orphaned after a devastating air raid claims her family and her home. She is evacuated to Bletchley to live with her aunt Constance, where she forms an unlikely friendship with Prudence Le Strange, who is working in the code breaking unit at Bletchley. As their friendship grows stronger, the war subjects Sheila and Prue to fresh tragedies as, one by one, those they love are called away to distant battlefields, only to join the growing ranks of the missing, the captured and the dead. As the war escalates, the two friends find their lives increasingly complicated not only by the secrets of wartime but by those the conflict has dredged up from the past.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published February 19, 2015
7 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
Mary Nichols
176 books44 followersBorn in Singapore to a Dutch-South African father and an English mother, Mary Nichols came to England when she was three and considers herself totally English. Her father, like many people who learn English as a second language, would have no sloppiness, either spoken or written, and Mary puts her love of the language down to him. He was also a great reader and there were always books in the house so that Mary learned to read at a very early age. She read anything that came to hand, whether it was suitable or not! By the time she was nine or ten, her one ambition was to be a writer.
Her first novel, handwritten in several school exercise books, was completed when she was fifteen. Not having any idea of how to go about finding a publisher, she wrapped it up and sent it to the editor of the woman's monthly magazine to which her mother subscribed. It says a great deal for that editor that she took the trouble to read it and sent Mary a long and very encouraging letter, which put her ambition into overdrive.
Finishing her education and finding a job took over in the next few years, followed by an early marriage and a family. When her children were all at school she joined her local writers' circle. Publication of articles and stories in a variety of periodicals and magazines followed, but the ambition to be a novelist never wavered and throughout the time she was writing and selling short pieces she was working on her novels.
Mary joined the Romantic Novelists Association in the 1960s. Her first novel was a contemporary one published by Robert Hale in 1981 and that was followed by nine more. Mary sent her first historical romance to Mills and Boon in 1985 and was delighted when a telephone call three weeks later told her it had been accepted. Since then she has been a regular writer for the historical series. Among these is a miniseries about a group of gentleman in the mid-eighteenth century who form a club to track down criminals, a sort of private detective agency, which naturally leads each of them into romance.
She is also the author of family sagas, published by Allison and Busby. She has also written a biography of her grandmother, entitled The Mother of Necton, who was the midwife and nurse in the village of Necton in Norfolk from 1910 until the advent of the National Health Service in 1948.
Apart from when her children were small, Mary always had a 'day job', being a school secretary, an editor of a house journal and an information manager for a database of open learning courses. Now writing full time, Mary spends part of every day at her computer producing her novels and divides the rest of the time between reading and research and gardening. Occasionally she gives talks about her writing to groups and societies. “Writing for me is an addiction,” Mary says. “I am not happy if I haven't got a book on the go and if my readers enjoy what I have written, then that is an added bonus.”
Her first novel, handwritten in several school exercise books, was completed when she was fifteen. Not having any idea of how to go about finding a publisher, she wrapped it up and sent it to the editor of the woman's monthly magazine to which her mother subscribed. It says a great deal for that editor that she took the trouble to read it and sent Mary a long and very encouraging letter, which put her ambition into overdrive.
Finishing her education and finding a job took over in the next few years, followed by an early marriage and a family. When her children were all at school she joined her local writers' circle. Publication of articles and stories in a variety of periodicals and magazines followed, but the ambition to be a novelist never wavered and throughout the time she was writing and selling short pieces she was working on her novels.
Mary joined the Romantic Novelists Association in the 1960s. Her first novel was a contemporary one published by Robert Hale in 1981 and that was followed by nine more. Mary sent her first historical romance to Mills and Boon in 1985 and was delighted when a telephone call three weeks later told her it had been accepted. Since then she has been a regular writer for the historical series. Among these is a miniseries about a group of gentleman in the mid-eighteenth century who form a club to track down criminals, a sort of private detective agency, which naturally leads each of them into romance.
She is also the author of family sagas, published by Allison and Busby. She has also written a biography of her grandmother, entitled The Mother of Necton, who was the midwife and nurse in the village of Necton in Norfolk from 1910 until the advent of the National Health Service in 1948.
Apart from when her children were small, Mary always had a 'day job', being a school secretary, an editor of a house journal and an information manager for a database of open learning courses. Now writing full time, Mary spends part of every day at her computer producing her novels and divides the rest of the time between reading and research and gardening. Occasionally she gives talks about her writing to groups and societies. “Writing for me is an addiction,” Mary says. “I am not happy if I haven't got a book on the go and if my readers enjoy what I have written, then that is an added bonus.”
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 7, 2017
Booktubeathon book #5
This novel gives a clear view on how hard war was on people, especially those on the home front. It looks at the ideas about glorifying war and those of censorship.
It has a good focus on and insight into both Bletchley park and bomber command, both played very vital parts in the war. Both where not acknowledged for the work they did until many years later, Bletchley due to the secrecy of the work and bomber command because people didn’t want to own up to what bomber command did. It’s very important both are remembered along with service personnel and civilians on both sides.
https://www.rafbf.org/bomber-command-...
https://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/
The novel has a very clever intertwined plot that at times is quite emotional, and is neatly brought together at the end. It’s a poignant look at the losses of war and the secrets everybody carried.
This novel gives a clear view on how hard war was on people, especially those on the home front. It looks at the ideas about glorifying war and those of censorship.
It has a good focus on and insight into both Bletchley park and bomber command, both played very vital parts in the war. Both where not acknowledged for the work they did until many years later, Bletchley due to the secrecy of the work and bomber command because people didn’t want to own up to what bomber command did. It’s very important both are remembered along with service personnel and civilians on both sides.
https://www.rafbf.org/bomber-command-...
https://www.bletchleypark.org.uk/
The novel has a very clever intertwined plot that at times is quite emotional, and is neatly brought together at the end. It’s a poignant look at the losses of war and the secrets everybody carried.
November 16, 2019
Egészen a 80-as évekig nem lehetett arról beszélni, hogy mi is történt a Bletchley Parkban, ahol többezren dolgoztak és mindenkinek tartania kellett magát a nyilatkozathoz, amit aláírattak vele, hogy soha sehol senkinek nem beszél arról, mi volt a munkája. Márpedig sokféle ember dolgozott ott, nem csak katonák, de kódfejtők, matematikusok, nyelvészek, fordítók, tanárok és egyéb civilek is: szakácsok, postások, motoros hírvivők. Sokan voltak közöttük nők is, Mary Nicholls innen vette az alapötletét a regényéhez. De a lányok ottani munkája csak az egyik aspektusa a történethez. Igazából mindent felölel és majdnem mindenről olvashatunk, ami egy nagyívű háborús sagában előfordulhat. De főleg arról, hogy a második világháború mennyire rányomta bélyegét mindenkinek az életére, akár volt köze konkrétan a harcokhoz, akár csak a hátországban volt kénytelen vigyázni arra, hogy legyen elég krumplija a télre.
Nem éppen az a pörgős és magával ragadó történet volt, amire számítottam. Talán pont az volt a gond, hogy kicsit sok minden került bele a regénybe és bár az események érdekesek és izgalmasak voltak, a karakterek és az ő érzelmeik nagyon nem akartak megelevenedni a könyv lapjain. Ugyanakkor volt benne sok olyan esemény és történetszál is, ami meglepőre sikerült és az ember nem is gondolná, hogy bizony a 20. század közepén is küzdöttek vele az emberek, pedig tuti, hogy már akkor is előfordult poszttraumás stressz zavar vagy éppen gyermekágyi depresszió. Csak éppen ezek azok a dolgok, amikről soha senki se beszélt, pláne nem írtak róla csak éppen szenvedtek tőle az emberek, esetleg áldozatai voltak a betegségnek.
Eredetileg azt vártam, hogy egy romantikusabb történetet fogok olvasni magával ragadó szereplőkkel, addig pont a szereplők hagytak hidegen, viszont a történeteik és a háború hatása a hétköznapi hősökre lekötött annyira, hogy a regénnyel végülis kellemes körülmények között váltunk el egymástól.
Részletesen: http://olvasonaplo.net/olvasonaplo/20...
Nem éppen az a pörgős és magával ragadó történet volt, amire számítottam. Talán pont az volt a gond, hogy kicsit sok minden került bele a regénybe és bár az események érdekesek és izgalmasak voltak, a karakterek és az ő érzelmeik nagyon nem akartak megelevenedni a könyv lapjain. Ugyanakkor volt benne sok olyan esemény és történetszál is, ami meglepőre sikerült és az ember nem is gondolná, hogy bizony a 20. század közepén is küzdöttek vele az emberek, pedig tuti, hogy már akkor is előfordult poszttraumás stressz zavar vagy éppen gyermekágyi depresszió. Csak éppen ezek azok a dolgok, amikről soha senki se beszélt, pláne nem írtak róla csak éppen szenvedtek tőle az emberek, esetleg áldozatai voltak a betegségnek.
Eredetileg azt vártam, hogy egy romantikusabb történetet fogok olvasni magával ragadó szereplőkkel, addig pont a szereplők hagytak hidegen, viszont a történeteik és a háború hatása a hétköznapi hősökre lekötött annyira, hogy a regénnyel végülis kellemes körülmények között váltunk el egymástól.
Részletesen: http://olvasonaplo.net/olvasonaplo/20...
April 19, 2018
Great book!
I couldn't put it down. I read it every possible moment I had. The characters were believable and the story line was well plotted. The writer's voice and details were true to the period.
I couldn't put it down. I read it every possible moment I had. The characters were believable and the story line was well plotted. The writer's voice and details were true to the period.
May 27, 2019
A lovely story set in Bletchley Park during WWII, however was confused midway through the book when two pages seemed word for word from another book set in WWII !
September 21, 2015
A stunning World War 2 saga from a master storyteller, We’ll Meet Again is a mesmerizing tale of courage, second chances and redemption from Mary Nichols’ exquisitely talented pen.
The bottom falls out of Sheila Phipps’ world when a bomb attack wipes out her entire family. Having lost everyone and everything she held dear to her heart in one fell swoop, Sheila is frightened, vulnerable and alone. Sent to live with her Aunt Constance in rural Bletchley, Sheila’s future looks bleak. Her social-climbing aunt loses no time in chipping away at Sheila’s self confidence with her snide remarks and barbed comments. Still mourning the loss of her entire family, Sheila wonders whether she will ever be happy again. She misses her parents and her siblings dreadfully and her Aunt Constance seems to take particular delight in making her life a complete and utter hell. Sheila wonders whether she would be better off going back to London, but a chance encounter with her aunt’s lodger, Lady Prudence Le Strange, soon changes her mind…
Prudence had been chafing at the diktats imposed upon her by her family, who had forbidden her from having anything to do with the war effort. Prudence is desperate to do her bit for king and country and when her prowess for languages gets her a job at Bletchley Park, she bids farewell to her old life as an earl’s daughter and heads off to do her duty as a codebreaker. When she overhears her landlady being particularly vicious to her orphaned niece, Prudence decides to take heartbroken Sheila under her wing and despite the vast social chasm that divides them, the two become fast friends.
Prudence uses her influence at Bletchley Park to get Sheila a job and she is delighted when she sees her new friend coming out of her shell. Sheila soon discovers a talent for the stage and her ever growing confidence under the spotlight makes her determined to make the theatre her future after the war. Sheila has never quite managed to shake off the feeling that her brother Charlie had not perished in the bomb blast that had killed the rest of their family, and when she spots his face in a film, she vows to find him. But with the world in turmoil, will Sheila ever be reunited with Charlie?
As the conflict escalates, anguish, sadness and heartbreak soon become a regular part of Sheila and Prudence’s lives. Will they ever manage to find the happiness that they’ve been searching for? Or will the enemy quell their spirits and destroy their remaining hopes and dreams?
In We’ll Meet Again, Mary Nichols has penned an engrossing, fascinating and highly involving historical saga that I struggled to put down. Written with confidence, flair and sensitivity, this outstanding saga brings to vivid life the struggles and hardships which people went through during the Second World War and readers are kept eagerly turning the pages as they find themselves enthralled by the trials and tribulations which Mary Nichols’ wonderfully drawn characters go through.
From the codebreakers in Bletchley Park to resistance workers in France and the awe-inspiring work of the pilots in the Second World War, Mary Nichols takes her readers on an emotional and captivating journey they will not easily forget. Wonderfully written, stirring and impossible to resist, We’ll Meet Again is historical fiction at its absolute best!
The bottom falls out of Sheila Phipps’ world when a bomb attack wipes out her entire family. Having lost everyone and everything she held dear to her heart in one fell swoop, Sheila is frightened, vulnerable and alone. Sent to live with her Aunt Constance in rural Bletchley, Sheila’s future looks bleak. Her social-climbing aunt loses no time in chipping away at Sheila’s self confidence with her snide remarks and barbed comments. Still mourning the loss of her entire family, Sheila wonders whether she will ever be happy again. She misses her parents and her siblings dreadfully and her Aunt Constance seems to take particular delight in making her life a complete and utter hell. Sheila wonders whether she would be better off going back to London, but a chance encounter with her aunt’s lodger, Lady Prudence Le Strange, soon changes her mind…
Prudence had been chafing at the diktats imposed upon her by her family, who had forbidden her from having anything to do with the war effort. Prudence is desperate to do her bit for king and country and when her prowess for languages gets her a job at Bletchley Park, she bids farewell to her old life as an earl’s daughter and heads off to do her duty as a codebreaker. When she overhears her landlady being particularly vicious to her orphaned niece, Prudence decides to take heartbroken Sheila under her wing and despite the vast social chasm that divides them, the two become fast friends.
Prudence uses her influence at Bletchley Park to get Sheila a job and she is delighted when she sees her new friend coming out of her shell. Sheila soon discovers a talent for the stage and her ever growing confidence under the spotlight makes her determined to make the theatre her future after the war. Sheila has never quite managed to shake off the feeling that her brother Charlie had not perished in the bomb blast that had killed the rest of their family, and when she spots his face in a film, she vows to find him. But with the world in turmoil, will Sheila ever be reunited with Charlie?
As the conflict escalates, anguish, sadness and heartbreak soon become a regular part of Sheila and Prudence’s lives. Will they ever manage to find the happiness that they’ve been searching for? Or will the enemy quell their spirits and destroy their remaining hopes and dreams?
In We’ll Meet Again, Mary Nichols has penned an engrossing, fascinating and highly involving historical saga that I struggled to put down. Written with confidence, flair and sensitivity, this outstanding saga brings to vivid life the struggles and hardships which people went through during the Second World War and readers are kept eagerly turning the pages as they find themselves enthralled by the trials and tribulations which Mary Nichols’ wonderfully drawn characters go through.
From the codebreakers in Bletchley Park to resistance workers in France and the awe-inspiring work of the pilots in the Second World War, Mary Nichols takes her readers on an emotional and captivating journey they will not easily forget. Wonderfully written, stirring and impossible to resist, We’ll Meet Again is historical fiction at its absolute best!
June 6, 2016
When Sheila Phipps loses her loving family in the Blitz, she is forced to go and live with a disapproving aunt in Bletchley, Buckinghamshire. Also lodging there is Lady Prudence Le Strange and the two become fast friends despite the difference in their social backgrounds. Prue is involved in some secretive work at Bletchley Park and manages to get Sheila a job as a post girl/messenger. When Sheila’s childhood friend, Chris, is lost at sea while on an Arctic convoy, Prue is there to help her cope. Later, it is Sheila’s turn to prop Prue up when she loses someone to whom she was very close. With a background of secret war work, including various resistance movements in Europe, this is a heart-warming novel of love and loss in wartime and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I really enjoy Mary Nichols homely style of writing and was extremely sorry to learn of her recent death. I shall have to make sure I read all her other novels while they are still available.
Read
July 15, 2016Many thanks to my friend Mary Nichols, whose namesake wrote this book, and who loaned it to me.
Watching the movie "The Imitation Game" sparked my interest in Bletchley Park. Sheila takes a job there after her family is killed by an air raid and she has to live with her nearest relative. Aunt Constance is hosting another worker at the code-breaking facility, Lady Prudence LeStrange (how's that for a name?).
The story of these young women, their families, and their sweethearts is woven together against the backdrop of World War II Britain. The most interesting character was Aunt Constance and the secrets she hides behind her prickly personality. The ending brought all the characters and plot threads together beautifully.
Watching the movie "The Imitation Game" sparked my interest in Bletchley Park. Sheila takes a job there after her family is killed by an air raid and she has to live with her nearest relative. Aunt Constance is hosting another worker at the code-breaking facility, Lady Prudence LeStrange (how's that for a name?).
The story of these young women, their families, and their sweethearts is woven together against the backdrop of World War II Britain. The most interesting character was Aunt Constance and the secrets she hides behind her prickly personality. The ending brought all the characters and plot threads together beautifully.
January 7, 2016
Don't be put off by the title, which led me to believe it might be a sentimental slog of a wartime saga. But having read and enjoyed Mary Nichols other novels, I gave it a go and was happy to find it's a well-written piece of historical fiction. We follow Sheila Phipps as she has to re-evaluate her life after losing her family to a bombing in London during WW2. Full of interesting characters, it's a captivating read, and the pace never flags.
January 29, 2017
Good book! Romance (not too much) and war (also not too much) - certainly made me feel like I was 'there' for the happenings.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews