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The Dandelion Clock
The Dandelion Clock, inspired by real events, is set in Gallipoli, Egypt, Palestine, and England. It's a heartbreaking tale of young lovers torn apart by the Great War, 1914-1918. While Bill and his beloved warhorse, Copper, fight the Central Powers in North Africa with the Royal Buckinghamshire Hussars and the Queens' Own Worcestershire Yeomanry, Florrie fights her own war at home in Kettering, struggling to bring up her siblings with her abusive father, poverty, and rationing. Can Bill keep his promises to bring Copper home safe and marry Florrie. Can their love survive the changes the war and five years apart bring?
376 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 26, 2018
57 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca Bryn
31 books82 followersRebecca lives in West Wales with her husband and dog, where she paints the fabulous coastal scenery and writes historical, mystery, and post-apocalyptic tales with a twist. Her historical novel Touching the Wire won a Gold Medal in the Readers' Favorite 2019 Book Awards and the IAN Book of the Year prize in the same year. The Chainmakers Daughter was a finalist in 2020.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 7, 2018
THIS TOOK ME ON A ROLLER COASTER RIDE
A cleverly written book that made me both smile and cry – not many books do that. Based on a true story it features England in war time, both from the point of view of the soldier who went overseas to fight in 1918 and the girl he left behind. The research was excellent, the characters well defined and this book lifts the lid of the situation so many young couples faced in a time of crisis. Sad, but oh so realistic and I cannot recommend it highly enough. A well deserved 5 stars from me.
A cleverly written book that made me both smile and cry – not many books do that. Based on a true story it features England in war time, both from the point of view of the soldier who went overseas to fight in 1918 and the girl he left behind. The research was excellent, the characters well defined and this book lifts the lid of the situation so many young couples faced in a time of crisis. Sad, but oh so realistic and I cannot recommend it highly enough. A well deserved 5 stars from me.
December 12, 2018
I've had my eye on this book ever since it was published. Intuitively, I felt it was going to be a very good book and I wasn't disappointed. This is a really good book and a well-told story. As I read it I wasn't sure whether it is based on someone's memoirs or just well research by the author, but every turn of this story comes across genuine and real. It is like an illustrated true story: illustrated not by pictures but with rich imagination and well-researched detail. There were some parts where it seemed so real that I became fully immersed in the scene and was actually full of adrenaline feeling I was there: the battle of Sulva, near Gallipoli being such a place.
There's more than one protagonist in this book and for each, their story is related with an empathy that helps you understand that it wasn't just the front line soldiers being put through ordeals. I think the trials of the war-horse Copper was a wonderful addition to the story.
There is so much story here, in Flanders, Turkey, Egypt, and Palestine, as well as back in Northamptonshire: more than enough for two books. Putting it all in one risks making the story too long, yet it adds to the feeling that you are reading an epic. And it is - it's an epic for sure that has truly captured the spirit of the normal people who found their world turned upside down and thrown into chaos by the war. If it was based on memoirs retold from people who are now passed on, then I know they would be very proud to see their story told. If it is based on a writer's imagination and research, then kudos to the writer.
There's more than one protagonist in this book and for each, their story is related with an empathy that helps you understand that it wasn't just the front line soldiers being put through ordeals. I think the trials of the war-horse Copper was a wonderful addition to the story.
There is so much story here, in Flanders, Turkey, Egypt, and Palestine, as well as back in Northamptonshire: more than enough for two books. Putting it all in one risks making the story too long, yet it adds to the feeling that you are reading an epic. And it is - it's an epic for sure that has truly captured the spirit of the normal people who found their world turned upside down and thrown into chaos by the war. If it was based on memoirs retold from people who are now passed on, then I know they would be very proud to see their story told. If it is based on a writer's imagination and research, then kudos to the writer.
August 22, 2018
It's only a century since the first world war came to an end. It's easy to forget that the conduct of warfare was then still heavily dependent upon horses. Cavalry regiments still formed the backbone of the British army.
Bryn's grandfather served in such a regiment and it is that fact that inspired her to write this epic tale. But she does not limit herself to the rigours faced by serving men. She takes a close look at the lives of those left behind in England. The older generation of men whose labours kept 'the home fires burning' and the women of all ages who shouldered the burden of clothing and feeding everyone whilst worrying about the fate of their young male relatives in far flung corners of the world.
Another factor that sets this book apart from many others set in World War I is the way it concentrates on an often forgotten theatre of war. This is important because the events that Bryn relates reverberate a century later. After describing pre-war rural life, with shades of Downton Abbey, the story moves to the period of training that volunteer soldiers underwent. This enables Bryn to introduce us to a romantic triangle as her protagonist, Bill, and a young woman, Martha, with whose family he is billeted, develop a fondness for each other that leaves him agonising about his espousal to his sweetheart, Florrie, in his home town.
The action then moves to the ill fated expedition to the Dardanelles and, thence, to Egypt and the Holy Land. Through all the minor victories and set backs that characterised these campaigns we see not only the suffering of the men but that of the horses. Copper, a horse belonging to Lady Alice, the daughter of the 'big house', is an important character in this story. His suffering, and that of the other horses, will break your heart. Bryn has stated that she wept frequently whilst writing such scenes. It is that emotional engagement with the suffering of all her characters – back home in England the relationship between Florrie and her father goes from bad to worse to terrible – that makes Bryn's writing such a roller coaster ride for the reader.
I've read several of Bryn's books and am an unashamed fan. I had the privilege of access to an early draft of this one and found it to be the best yet. Because she is self-published this book will not get the sales it so richly deserves. That is a shame because Bryn is, without doubt, one of the best writers of historical fiction writing in English today. In The dandelion Clock you will not just read about the horrors of war, you will live them in all their stark reality.
Bryn's grandfather served in such a regiment and it is that fact that inspired her to write this epic tale. But she does not limit herself to the rigours faced by serving men. She takes a close look at the lives of those left behind in England. The older generation of men whose labours kept 'the home fires burning' and the women of all ages who shouldered the burden of clothing and feeding everyone whilst worrying about the fate of their young male relatives in far flung corners of the world.
Another factor that sets this book apart from many others set in World War I is the way it concentrates on an often forgotten theatre of war. This is important because the events that Bryn relates reverberate a century later. After describing pre-war rural life, with shades of Downton Abbey, the story moves to the period of training that volunteer soldiers underwent. This enables Bryn to introduce us to a romantic triangle as her protagonist, Bill, and a young woman, Martha, with whose family he is billeted, develop a fondness for each other that leaves him agonising about his espousal to his sweetheart, Florrie, in his home town.
The action then moves to the ill fated expedition to the Dardanelles and, thence, to Egypt and the Holy Land. Through all the minor victories and set backs that characterised these campaigns we see not only the suffering of the men but that of the horses. Copper, a horse belonging to Lady Alice, the daughter of the 'big house', is an important character in this story. His suffering, and that of the other horses, will break your heart. Bryn has stated that she wept frequently whilst writing such scenes. It is that emotional engagement with the suffering of all her characters – back home in England the relationship between Florrie and her father goes from bad to worse to terrible – that makes Bryn's writing such a roller coaster ride for the reader.
I've read several of Bryn's books and am an unashamed fan. I had the privilege of access to an early draft of this one and found it to be the best yet. Because she is self-published this book will not get the sales it so richly deserves. That is a shame because Bryn is, without doubt, one of the best writers of historical fiction writing in English today. In The dandelion Clock you will not just read about the horrors of war, you will live them in all their stark reality.
July 26, 2018
A man determined to keep his promises. A novel you will never forget...
Rebecca Bryn has a consistent flair for scouring out your heart with her painfully honest accounts of heartbreak, loss and courage in the face of unspeakable horror, as I first discovered when reading Touching the Wire. I therefore should have known when I was gifted a copy of The Dandelion Clock that I would read much of it in tears, held to the insistent narrative by an aching empathy for all the people who came so vividly alive within its pages – only for some of them to become even more memorable by their tragic deaths. So often it was impossible to know what the eventual outcome for Bill and Florrie might be.
My grandfather came back from the front at the end of the First World War a changed man, so I was told. He took to drink and regularly beat his wife when he was drunk – something for which some of his seven children never forgave him. He would never talk about his experiences and unfortunately died of lung disease related to having been gassed in the trenches when he was only 63. I was 8 then, too young to know the questions to ask to unlock his trauma. Reading The Dandelion Clock answered some of those questions and renewed my connection with my grandfather, as well as bringing it home to me that many of those boys sent off to war were the same age as my three grandsons shortly going off to university.
Rebecca Bryn’s descriptions of place and of the appalling conditions suffered are masterful. Let me give you some examples: ‘September, and a crescent moon hung in a Turkish sky and shone on dead men.’ ‘He shivered. The moaning of the wind in the trenches wailed like the tortured souls of dead men.’ ‘Rolling, turf-covered downs bejewelled with wild flowers…’ ‘The sin of war spread out across the world to engulf him.’ There is page after page of descriptions that took my breath away, brought further tears, and made those foreign landscapes utterly real.
But not only is this a novel that focuses on the hardships, loss and love between comrades-in-arms in appalling circumstances. It also speaks of the experiences of the families left behind to wait, often in ignorance, for brothers, sons and sweethearts who might never return. Bill is a man determined to keep his promises – to Lady Alice whose horse, Copper is as precious to him as anyone, and who he is determined to bring back to England at the end of the war; and to the two very different women who capture his heart.
Poor Florrie – the woman he is promised to – suffers the fate typical of so many working class women at that time, locked into unrelenting servitude in a family with a brutish, abusive father, trying to survive and scrape a living while her brothers endure the terrors and wounds to mind and body inflicted by war. My heart felt full of sadness for her, and for the impossibility of her life. Would her relationship with Bill survive?
Towards the end of the novel Bill turns to the last remaining of his comrades and reflects on the experiences of the past four years. “Best not to dwell on it,” he says. “It’ll send you mad.” Rebecca Bryn has been brave enough to dwell on it, and to offer us the opportunity to immerse ourselves for a while on the shameful, pointless ‘sin of war’ as Bill describes it. Read this book because you will rarely read another that moves you in quite the same way. Some books are good. This one is great. The author’s best to date. Totally compelling and unmissable.
Rebecca Bryn has a consistent flair for scouring out your heart with her painfully honest accounts of heartbreak, loss and courage in the face of unspeakable horror, as I first discovered when reading Touching the Wire. I therefore should have known when I was gifted a copy of The Dandelion Clock that I would read much of it in tears, held to the insistent narrative by an aching empathy for all the people who came so vividly alive within its pages – only for some of them to become even more memorable by their tragic deaths. So often it was impossible to know what the eventual outcome for Bill and Florrie might be.
My grandfather came back from the front at the end of the First World War a changed man, so I was told. He took to drink and regularly beat his wife when he was drunk – something for which some of his seven children never forgave him. He would never talk about his experiences and unfortunately died of lung disease related to having been gassed in the trenches when he was only 63. I was 8 then, too young to know the questions to ask to unlock his trauma. Reading The Dandelion Clock answered some of those questions and renewed my connection with my grandfather, as well as bringing it home to me that many of those boys sent off to war were the same age as my three grandsons shortly going off to university.
Rebecca Bryn’s descriptions of place and of the appalling conditions suffered are masterful. Let me give you some examples: ‘September, and a crescent moon hung in a Turkish sky and shone on dead men.’ ‘He shivered. The moaning of the wind in the trenches wailed like the tortured souls of dead men.’ ‘Rolling, turf-covered downs bejewelled with wild flowers…’ ‘The sin of war spread out across the world to engulf him.’ There is page after page of descriptions that took my breath away, brought further tears, and made those foreign landscapes utterly real.
But not only is this a novel that focuses on the hardships, loss and love between comrades-in-arms in appalling circumstances. It also speaks of the experiences of the families left behind to wait, often in ignorance, for brothers, sons and sweethearts who might never return. Bill is a man determined to keep his promises – to Lady Alice whose horse, Copper is as precious to him as anyone, and who he is determined to bring back to England at the end of the war; and to the two very different women who capture his heart.
Poor Florrie – the woman he is promised to – suffers the fate typical of so many working class women at that time, locked into unrelenting servitude in a family with a brutish, abusive father, trying to survive and scrape a living while her brothers endure the terrors and wounds to mind and body inflicted by war. My heart felt full of sadness for her, and for the impossibility of her life. Would her relationship with Bill survive?
Towards the end of the novel Bill turns to the last remaining of his comrades and reflects on the experiences of the past four years. “Best not to dwell on it,” he says. “It’ll send you mad.” Rebecca Bryn has been brave enough to dwell on it, and to offer us the opportunity to immerse ourselves for a while on the shameful, pointless ‘sin of war’ as Bill describes it. Read this book because you will rarely read another that moves you in quite the same way. Some books are good. This one is great. The author’s best to date. Totally compelling and unmissable.
July 28, 2018
Reviewed by Sarah Stuart for Readers' Favorite
Rebecca Bryn’s novel, The Dandelion Clock: A wish to end all wishes; the war to end all wars, is a vivid portrayal of WW1 shown through the eyes of a country lad and a backstreet girl. Bill joins yeomanry formed on a local duke’s estate and is allotted Lady Alice’s much-loved horse, Copper, to ride. Florrie, who gave up her dream to be a dancer to care for her siblings, loves Bill and looks to him for protection from her abusive widowed father. A shooting in distant Sarajevo triggers war, and before Bill leaves, he makes two promises – when he comes home he will marry Florrie and return Copper to Lady Alice. Sent first to Gallipoli, and then to Egypt, will he survive to keep his word? How will Florrie cope as food becomes scarce and her father more violent? Can their love endure five years apart?
The Dandelion Clock – blowing seeds from a dandelion head and counting the puffs until the last is gone: “he loves me, he loves me not”. For Florrie, horrific news of casualties changes it to “he lives, he lives not”. Bill is drafted to the trenches of Gallipoli, and then to the roasting heat, scouring winds, and icy nights of Egypt; hungry, short of water, and in constant danger from enemy guns, it’s kill or be killed. Rebecca Bryn breathes new life into the land of Abraham and the road to Jerusalem and finally asks the question, what did the allies gain at such cost in brave young men who never came home or those that returned to the austerity of a “land fit for heroes”? A love story or a well-researched tale of WW1? The Dandelion Clock is both: an emotional rollercoaster that moved me to tears, to anger, and sometimes to laughter.
Rebecca Bryn’s novel, The Dandelion Clock: A wish to end all wishes; the war to end all wars, is a vivid portrayal of WW1 shown through the eyes of a country lad and a backstreet girl. Bill joins yeomanry formed on a local duke’s estate and is allotted Lady Alice’s much-loved horse, Copper, to ride. Florrie, who gave up her dream to be a dancer to care for her siblings, loves Bill and looks to him for protection from her abusive widowed father. A shooting in distant Sarajevo triggers war, and before Bill leaves, he makes two promises – when he comes home he will marry Florrie and return Copper to Lady Alice. Sent first to Gallipoli, and then to Egypt, will he survive to keep his word? How will Florrie cope as food becomes scarce and her father more violent? Can their love endure five years apart?
The Dandelion Clock – blowing seeds from a dandelion head and counting the puffs until the last is gone: “he loves me, he loves me not”. For Florrie, horrific news of casualties changes it to “he lives, he lives not”. Bill is drafted to the trenches of Gallipoli, and then to the roasting heat, scouring winds, and icy nights of Egypt; hungry, short of water, and in constant danger from enemy guns, it’s kill or be killed. Rebecca Bryn breathes new life into the land of Abraham and the road to Jerusalem and finally asks the question, what did the allies gain at such cost in brave young men who never came home or those that returned to the austerity of a “land fit for heroes”? A love story or a well-researched tale of WW1? The Dandelion Clock is both: an emotional rollercoaster that moved me to tears, to anger, and sometimes to laughter.
November 27, 2018
This is a well written, touching story which it seems is based on some actual events. The time is World War one, you know, the war to end all wars. Of course, we all know wars will go on and on and on. The author takes a peek into the lives of not only a hero of the war, but those who love him. Told through a story accompanied by the treasured letters that are sent during war, the author captures the essence of the time and the feelings of those touched by it.
August 13, 2023
WOW ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT.
Absolutely brilliant, i couldn't put it down.
How does Rebecca Bryn do it ?
I haven't read one bad book, and i know i won't- I read it in four day's. She is the author of " Touching The Wire ", another brilliant read, at the time it came out, was Book of the Year.
Everyone should read her books.
High recommend reads.
Absolutely brilliant, i couldn't put it down.
How does Rebecca Bryn do it ?
I haven't read one bad book, and i know i won't- I read it in four day's. She is the author of " Touching The Wire ", another brilliant read, at the time it came out, was Book of the Year.
Everyone should read her books.
High recommend reads.
September 6, 2018
There are no winners in war, which is highlighted at several levels in this superb tale of love, loss, abuse, conflict, courage and devotion to duty. In this story, the conflict, courage and devotion to duty are not only on the battlefields but also on the home-front. A vivid picture is created of life for all concerned during a major war.
Try if you will, to go without food for a day, or a decent hot drink, or sleep … having worn the same clothes for days on end in a range of temperatures and weather. What could be worse? Place yourself in adverse conditions and introduce a few ground-shaking bombs and an enemy firing at you. Have you considered the ability to clean and service your rifle and equipment? How about aiming and firing back at the enemy from a water-filled, muddy trench.
Combine these things with the remorseless ‘duty-bound’ attitude of your leadership—now you have a tiny vision of life in The Great War.
I served in a modern war in the desert. I lived with the constant attention of flies, the heat of the days, the cold of the nights, and the knowledge that it might all end badly for me. I knew the comfort of comradeship but also that I was a tiny part of an overwhelming force and our human losses were minimal. My few months of trepidation and discomfort pale in comparison to this war which should have ended all wars.
In our modern warfare, ‘Trench Foot’ is called Immersion Foot, and ‘Shell-shock’ has been replaced by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)—now recognised as a mental condition. During the First World War, thousands of young men on both sides lost their lives to disease, and ‘desertion’ was dealt with by summary execution—the firing squad. Belated pardons are all very well, but young lives were destroyed in so many ways by an international conflict which spiralled out of control.
The young men in the First World War had little respite, and it became matter-of-fact that men who had become friends would die alongside you. Week upon week, and month after month the pressure was applied—and the upper hand was in the balance many times.
Highlighted in this story is the part played by the horses, which had no choice in the proceedings but they proved as courageous and tenacious as their riders—suffering from hunger, thirst and tiredness, and dying horribly in thousands of cases. There is nothing natural to a horse about galloping headlong into a line of men who are firing rifles. These brave animals became comrades in their own way, and must also be considered as war veterans.
Rebecca Bryn takes you into the hearts, minds and physical conditions of those at home and those in the various theatres of the war. There is no glorification, no tales of derring-do to inspire, but instead, a fictional tale loosely based on factual information. The reader will feel the pain of loss at home and away, juxtaposed to the frustration of the ‘not knowing’, a syndrome which affects those on the battlefield and loved ones, waiting, praying, and hoping for the best outcome.
Try if you will, to go without food for a day, or a decent hot drink, or sleep … having worn the same clothes for days on end in a range of temperatures and weather. What could be worse? Place yourself in adverse conditions and introduce a few ground-shaking bombs and an enemy firing at you. Have you considered the ability to clean and service your rifle and equipment? How about aiming and firing back at the enemy from a water-filled, muddy trench.
Combine these things with the remorseless ‘duty-bound’ attitude of your leadership—now you have a tiny vision of life in The Great War.
I served in a modern war in the desert. I lived with the constant attention of flies, the heat of the days, the cold of the nights, and the knowledge that it might all end badly for me. I knew the comfort of comradeship but also that I was a tiny part of an overwhelming force and our human losses were minimal. My few months of trepidation and discomfort pale in comparison to this war which should have ended all wars.
In our modern warfare, ‘Trench Foot’ is called Immersion Foot, and ‘Shell-shock’ has been replaced by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)—now recognised as a mental condition. During the First World War, thousands of young men on both sides lost their lives to disease, and ‘desertion’ was dealt with by summary execution—the firing squad. Belated pardons are all very well, but young lives were destroyed in so many ways by an international conflict which spiralled out of control.
The young men in the First World War had little respite, and it became matter-of-fact that men who had become friends would die alongside you. Week upon week, and month after month the pressure was applied—and the upper hand was in the balance many times.
Highlighted in this story is the part played by the horses, which had no choice in the proceedings but they proved as courageous and tenacious as their riders—suffering from hunger, thirst and tiredness, and dying horribly in thousands of cases. There is nothing natural to a horse about galloping headlong into a line of men who are firing rifles. These brave animals became comrades in their own way, and must also be considered as war veterans.
Rebecca Bryn takes you into the hearts, minds and physical conditions of those at home and those in the various theatres of the war. There is no glorification, no tales of derring-do to inspire, but instead, a fictional tale loosely based on factual information. The reader will feel the pain of loss at home and away, juxtaposed to the frustration of the ‘not knowing’, a syndrome which affects those on the battlefield and loved ones, waiting, praying, and hoping for the best outcome.
February 13, 2019
"He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not ... He Lives, He lives Not"
'The Dandelion Clock' by Rebecca Bryn is inspired by harrowing events which affected her grandparent's, Bill & Florrie, during World War 1.
Bill, a young farm boy - seeking adventure & courage to request/demand the hand of his steady girlfriend, Florrie, in a bid to rescue her from her domineering father - decides to join the Yeomanry alongside his brother, Ernie. However, Bill's best laid plans are fraughted when England declares war and he has to kill or be killed, watch friends suffer horrible deaths & know that his brother has been blinded by shellshock. His willpower & determination to survive is strengthened by the letters he receives from his family, Florrie, and a young girl, named Martha, whose family he billeted with at the start of the war.
Florrie, whose mother has passed away, not only cleans, cooks and cares for her siblings but tries to keep them safe from their abusive, alcoholic father. Sadly, she is so adept at covering her father's ill treatment that the extent of her father's abuse goes almost undiscovered - even Bill, her beloved, only knows a fraction of her suffering. Florrie's stress and self-doubt is further fuelled when she receives a letter from Bill, intended for Martha. Could she blame Bill if he no longer thought her worthy of his love? Trying to make sense of her life, Florrie often finds comfort by blowing the seeds of a dandelion - 'He loves me, he loves me not ... he lives, he lives not'.
Bryn leaves no stone left unturned as she walks us through the horrors that our men faced during the war, & the hardships their loved ones, back at home, had to endure.
I would recommend 'The Dandelion Clock' as a must-read to scholars learning about WW1, & fans of historical fiction stories, or biographies.
'The Dandelion Clock' by Rebecca Bryn is inspired by harrowing events which affected her grandparent's, Bill & Florrie, during World War 1.
Bill, a young farm boy - seeking adventure & courage to request/demand the hand of his steady girlfriend, Florrie, in a bid to rescue her from her domineering father - decides to join the Yeomanry alongside his brother, Ernie. However, Bill's best laid plans are fraughted when England declares war and he has to kill or be killed, watch friends suffer horrible deaths & know that his brother has been blinded by shellshock. His willpower & determination to survive is strengthened by the letters he receives from his family, Florrie, and a young girl, named Martha, whose family he billeted with at the start of the war.
Florrie, whose mother has passed away, not only cleans, cooks and cares for her siblings but tries to keep them safe from their abusive, alcoholic father. Sadly, she is so adept at covering her father's ill treatment that the extent of her father's abuse goes almost undiscovered - even Bill, her beloved, only knows a fraction of her suffering. Florrie's stress and self-doubt is further fuelled when she receives a letter from Bill, intended for Martha. Could she blame Bill if he no longer thought her worthy of his love? Trying to make sense of her life, Florrie often finds comfort by blowing the seeds of a dandelion - 'He loves me, he loves me not ... he lives, he lives not'.
Bryn leaves no stone left unturned as she walks us through the horrors that our men faced during the war, & the hardships their loved ones, back at home, had to endure.
I would recommend 'The Dandelion Clock' as a must-read to scholars learning about WW1, & fans of historical fiction stories, or biographies.
May 29, 2019
The setting is WWI, however it is not the European stage. Bill and Florrie live in Kettering. Poverty is rife in the area. Florrie lives with her father, as her mother is dead, she's mother to her younger siblings. Her father is a drunk and she has to scrimp to make sure everyone is fed and clothed. Bill is planning to ask for her hand hoping that together they can make a better future for themselves.
War is at hand and he and his brother, believing they will remain in the area to protect their countryside, joins the yeomanry formed on a local duke’s estate. He is given the Lady Alice’s horse, Copper, to ride and is charged with keeping him safe and bringing him home. The future takes a detour when both brothers are called to duty. Bill asks Florrie to wait for him, promising he will return and marry her.
Before being deployed, they are sent for more training. Here Bill is housed and fed by a local family. The daughter is waiting for her fiance to return. Their friendship blossoms and when he is deployed, they continue it with correspondences. Being more well to do than Florrie, she sends care packages regularly.
The blossoming relationship puts a strain on Bill, as he tries to be true to his promise.
The details of Bill's experiences are incredible as he tries to survive in a totally alien countryside. His main objective is to bring Copper home and keep his promise to Florrie. The author also tells what is happening at home with Florrie as she tries to protect her family.
It is intriguing and it is a heartbreaking story.
War is at hand and he and his brother, believing they will remain in the area to protect their countryside, joins the yeomanry formed on a local duke’s estate. He is given the Lady Alice’s horse, Copper, to ride and is charged with keeping him safe and bringing him home. The future takes a detour when both brothers are called to duty. Bill asks Florrie to wait for him, promising he will return and marry her.
Before being deployed, they are sent for more training. Here Bill is housed and fed by a local family. The daughter is waiting for her fiance to return. Their friendship blossoms and when he is deployed, they continue it with correspondences. Being more well to do than Florrie, she sends care packages regularly.
The blossoming relationship puts a strain on Bill, as he tries to be true to his promise.
The details of Bill's experiences are incredible as he tries to survive in a totally alien countryside. His main objective is to bring Copper home and keep his promise to Florrie. The author also tells what is happening at home with Florrie as she tries to protect her family.
It is intriguing and it is a heartbreaking story.
November 13, 2019
Well-written with text-book style research surrounding a British country boy's experience (Bill) and his brother's experiences during the Egyptian campaign of WWI. In-between are the love letters and storyline between him and the two young women he left behind; one he made promises to and another he met during training. Florrie, his intended, has had to raise her siblings while enduring abuse from her drunken father once her mother died at his hands. A favorite horse, provided by the Duke's daughter, Copper, remains his emotional support throughout, promising its safe return at the end of the war. No one could predict the horrors, hardships nor the length of the war and the changes and toll of those involved or left behind. Realistic, fact-based and heart-wrenching amidst duty and promises make for difficult choices during and following the end of the war. A highly recommended must-read for history buffs who wish to learn about lives affected by WWI through a realistic and in-depth perspective.
September 25, 2018
A war story to touch your heart
This is not a genre I would have chosen to read - I do not usually read stories that are based mainly on the war, but I love Rebecca Bryn's writing. As always her characters are so real that they become people you know and feel for as you follow Bill from his country upbringing to World War 1. His bond with his horse Copper and their journey together is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the book. A young man whose promise is his word, never to be broken, suffers the hardships caused by lack of water, food, clothing, fear and long days of fighting and burying the dead with only the love of the girl back home whom he has promised to marry to sustain him. Meanwhile she is back in England struggling to feed her younger siblings since their mother's death on the meagre earnings of her abusive father.
This is not a genre I would have chosen to read - I do not usually read stories that are based mainly on the war, but I love Rebecca Bryn's writing. As always her characters are so real that they become people you know and feel for as you follow Bill from his country upbringing to World War 1. His bond with his horse Copper and their journey together is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the book. A young man whose promise is his word, never to be broken, suffers the hardships caused by lack of water, food, clothing, fear and long days of fighting and burying the dead with only the love of the girl back home whom he has promised to marry to sustain him. Meanwhile she is back in England struggling to feed her younger siblings since their mother's death on the meagre earnings of her abusive father.
August 2, 2025
I would like to say I loved this book-but I didn't. It went into elaborate detail of British soldiers in WW1 in Egypt and Palestine-battle after battle, death after death, sights, sounds, smells. I now have a much better understanding of this time in history, however. The ending I'm sure, was very realistic, but depressing.
August 17, 2019
A wonderful read!
Wow! What a phenomenal work! I couldn't put it down. The descriptions of characters, life styles, predicaments, I fell in love with them a!l. You took me there! What a gift you have!
Wow! What a phenomenal work! I couldn't put it down. The descriptions of characters, life styles, predicaments, I fell in love with them a!l. You took me there! What a gift you have!
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