Greenfields

by Virginia Budd

Greenfields tells the compelling story of a Victorian villa, No 6 Honeysuckle Way, as seen through the eyes of its residents throughout the 20th century.

Set in the fictional London suburb of Greenfields, it opens and closes with a not entirely successful party to celebrate the new millennium.

This book tells the stories of five sets of characters whose lives have been changed irrevocably by their time at Greenfields.

1900 - Walter and Millie Longstreet live a seemingly happy suburban life on a quiet Victorian street. But Millie’s past and her restless ways can only lead to trouble for the newly-married pair and the appearance of Walter’s feckless and handsome cousin, Barney, spells disaster for all involved.

1923 - Recovering from the horrors of World War I, Bob Waterhouse moves to Greenfields with his wife and young daughter. Plagued by visions of the war and trapped in an unhappy marriage, Bob embarks on an affair with the beautiful Jemima. Bob and Jem find something in each after that they never thought possible after the carnage of the war but their story too seems fated to end in disaster.

1939 - Andy and Cherry Headcorn’s teenage romance has grown stale and married life is not what they expected. The monotony of their everyday life is disrupted by the outbreak of World War Two; Andy is shipped off to war and Cherry begins to help out in the Emergency at home. Their lives are changed forever when Cherry returns home to find Wolfgang, an injured German soldier, in her bathroom.

After a night of passion, Wolfgang and Cherry are torn apart but for how long? Wolfgang returns to London in 1966, will it be happy ever after for the pair?

Abby Grimshaw moves to Greenfields in the eighties following the death of her father. Having spent her youth with him at the local vicarage, she tries to embrace her newly found independence. But when she meets Peter Vronksy, her mysterious neighbour, things begin to look up.

Approaching the end of the twentieth century, Patsy Blore is bored by married life and frustrated by her boring husband, George. Excitement appears in the form of Con, George’s grown-up son from his first marriage.

What does the new millennium have in store for Greenfields and the inhabitants of No. 6 Honeysuckle Way?

‘Greenfields’ is a beautiful story of the ups and downs of twentieth century life in a London suburb.

Virginia Budd has worked in PR and advertising and her experience in these, as well as her studies of local history, have combined to add authenticity and originality to her writing. She lives in Suffolk. Her books include ‘An Affair to Remember’, ‘Running to Paradise’, ‘A Change of Pace’ and ‘Family Ties’.

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Genres: Historical Fiction

278 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 26, 2015

Reviews

[Bonnye Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greenfields is an interesting and telling tale of the lives encountered at #6 Honeysuckle Way, what we Americans call a duplex, in Greenfields, a small, slightly isolated London suburb located on prime land not far from downtown, just south of the river. When it was built, #6 is the only lot in Greenfields with a mature tree, a monkey puzzle tree mostly disliked or downright hated by the tenants. We begin when the housing is new on New Year's Day, 1900, and pick up the residents of #6, Milly, and Wally Longstreet. We then progress to 1923 with battling Bob and Florrie Waterhouse and their little daughter Dorie and follow the history of the subdivision and that particular house, all built with inherited profits from the Crimean War. Of course, there were many changes as the world lived through World War I and World War II. Greenfields went through several downturns and rebuilds, and many tenants who, over the years, add a touch here and there to the house and land. And we will end our story on New Year's Day of 2002 when the house, now a single-family dwelling, now #2 in Honeysuckle Way, after the duplexes are remodeled into single-family homes and vacant lots paved for extra parking.

That uplift was courtesy of Hon Jennifer Battersby, the great-granddaughter of Dorie, and her new husband Saul Golightly, descendent of Abel Golightly, an original realtor in the partnership that finally built Greenfields, a neighborhood planned and outlined in 1856 by Abel's father Saul but the building delayed by wars and recessions and turmoil.

An intriguing tale, one I was fascinated by. The ending was rather disappointing, but so is life, occasionally. I am pleased to recommend Virginia Budd to friends and family. She brings us characters with clear, apparent personalities and a good story as well.

Endeavour Press
pub 2015
Reviewed on April 30, 2022, at Goodreads and AmazonSmile. Not available for review on BookBub, Kobo, to GooglePlay.

[Misfits farm · Rating 2 out of 5]

A story about a house from 1900 to almost present day and its occupants. Every one appears to have or be affected by an affair of some sort and there is no flow between each story. I gave up at 40%, I rarely don’t finish a book (I think this is the 3rd in 20 years).However this was laborious and didn’t give the insight of the characters that I felt it could have done. The premise is a good one but this could have been so much better. Disappointed.