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Suttons #1
I'll Bring You Buttercups
The unforgettably stirring wartime tale of passion, heartbreak and tragedy from the bestselling author of A Scent of Lavender and The Willow Pool. From love springs tragedy, from tragedy comes hope… It is 1931 and Rowangarth, Yorkshire is a rural arcadia for sewing-maid Alice Hawthorn and young gamekeeper Tom Dwerryhouse. For Julia Sutton, daughter of Alice's employer, it is also a time of unfolding love for the handsome doctor, Andrew MacMalcolm. But with the outbreak of war their lives will be changed for ever… As Tom and Andrew volunteer to fight for King and Empire so too do Alice and Julia as VAD nurses on the Western Front. All find trials that will test them – and their love – to the limit as passion and hope are tempered by heartbreak and sorrow.
816 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 1993
15 people are currently reading
228 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
August 6, 2023
I have been promising myself a re-read of this series for many years and now the time feels right. I loved it back in the day. There are five books in total.
The early part of the book is quite slow at times but it's setting the stage, as it were, and we have a lot of characters to be introduced to.
The Suttons of Rowangarth are the main story and their cousins at neighbouring Pendeny's Place. Upstairs and downstairs all get their share of the story. Alice, the sewing maid and Julia, the daughter of the house, are friends and their friendship grows ever stronger throughout.
Once character in particular will make you want to 'plant him a facer' as Georgette Heyer's heroes would say.
There's romance aplenty, secrets, lies and sadness, lots of sadness as a good chunk of the book takes place during World War I. It does get overly sentimental and soppy in places but behind all that we have a wonderful story.
At just over eight hundred pages it's certainly a blockbuster but well worth the read. I enjoyed it just as much now as I did nearly thirty years ago. Can't wait to get to the second one.
The early part of the book is quite slow at times but it's setting the stage, as it were, and we have a lot of characters to be introduced to.
The Suttons of Rowangarth are the main story and their cousins at neighbouring Pendeny's Place. Upstairs and downstairs all get their share of the story. Alice, the sewing maid and Julia, the daughter of the house, are friends and their friendship grows ever stronger throughout.
Once character in particular will make you want to 'plant him a facer' as Georgette Heyer's heroes would say.
There's romance aplenty, secrets, lies and sadness, lots of sadness as a good chunk of the book takes place during World War I. It does get overly sentimental and soppy in places but behind all that we have a wonderful story.
At just over eight hundred pages it's certainly a blockbuster but well worth the read. I enjoyed it just as much now as I did nearly thirty years ago. Can't wait to get to the second one.
May 8, 2011
If you like sagas, you will enjoy reading this book. Beginning in 1913 it takes the reader through the tumultuous years of the First World War and the changes it brought to the bygone era of Upstairs, Downstairs society. Gradually, you are drawn into all the characters lives and care about what happens to them. Consequently, I’m going to read their ongoing story in Daisy Chain Summer.
May 18, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, even though it’s a heavy thick book. There is plenty of action and it kept me hooked. The characters are well written, it reminded me a bit of Downton Abbey. Set around the First World War with plenty of joy and tragedy. I’m now going to read the sequel, I hope it’s as good.
June 30, 2022
When Love Survives War
It is 1913 and Rowangarth,Yorkshire is a rural arcadia for sewing-maid Alice Hawthorn and young gamekeeper,Tom Dwerryhouse.For Julia Sutton,daughter of Alice's employer,it is also a time of unfolding love for the handsome doctor,Andrew MacMalcolm.But with the outbreak of war their lives will be changed forever...
When Passion Suffers Heartbreak
As Tom and Andrew volunteer to fight for King and Empire so too do Alice and Julia as VAD nurses on the Western Front.All find trials that will test them to the limit.For all passion and hope must be tempered by heartbreak,and sorrow...
When Tragedy Discovers Hope
Those who survive the torment of the trenches return to their homeland as very different people.For Alice it is a reluctant return as one of the aristocratic Sutton family...Will she find peace and fulfilment once again?
Sutton-in-Craven is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire,England that is situated in the Aire Valley between Skipton and Keighley.It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire.Sutton village maintains its distinct identity.Rowan Garth is one of its suburbs.
VADs(Voluntary Aid Detachment) were not military nurses,instead they were a voluntary unit or civilians providing nursing care for the military. Most volunteers were of the middle and upper classes and unaccustomed to hardship and traditional hospital discipline,so they were an uneasy addition to military hospitals' rank and order, as they also lacked the advanced skill of trained professional nurses.Relations however improved as the war went on:VAD members increased their skill and efficiency.VADs worked in Britain as VAD hospitals opened in most large towns in England for recuperation purposes,in field hospitals near the Western Front and in Mesopotamia and Gallipoli.Later,VADs were also sent to the Eastern Front.They also worked as ambulance drivers and cooks to name a few.The Green Howards or the Yorkshire Regiment,was a line infantry regiment of the British Army.They served in the Western and Eastern Fronts.
It is 1913 and Rowangarth,Yorkshire is a rural arcadia for sewing-maid Alice Hawthorn and young gamekeeper,Tom Dwerryhouse.For Julia Sutton,daughter of Alice's employer,it is also a time of unfolding love for the handsome doctor,Andrew MacMalcolm.But with the outbreak of war their lives will be changed forever...
When Passion Suffers Heartbreak
As Tom and Andrew volunteer to fight for King and Empire so too do Alice and Julia as VAD nurses on the Western Front.All find trials that will test them to the limit.For all passion and hope must be tempered by heartbreak,and sorrow...
When Tragedy Discovers Hope
Those who survive the torment of the trenches return to their homeland as very different people.For Alice it is a reluctant return as one of the aristocratic Sutton family...Will she find peace and fulfilment once again?
Sutton-in-Craven is a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire,England that is situated in the Aire Valley between Skipton and Keighley.It is historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire.Sutton village maintains its distinct identity.Rowan Garth is one of its suburbs.
VADs(Voluntary Aid Detachment) were not military nurses,instead they were a voluntary unit or civilians providing nursing care for the military. Most volunteers were of the middle and upper classes and unaccustomed to hardship and traditional hospital discipline,so they were an uneasy addition to military hospitals' rank and order, as they also lacked the advanced skill of trained professional nurses.Relations however improved as the war went on:VAD members increased their skill and efficiency.VADs worked in Britain as VAD hospitals opened in most large towns in England for recuperation purposes,in field hospitals near the Western Front and in Mesopotamia and Gallipoli.Later,VADs were also sent to the Eastern Front.They also worked as ambulance drivers and cooks to name a few.The Green Howards or the Yorkshire Regiment,was a line infantry regiment of the British Army.They served in the Western and Eastern Fronts.
February 18, 2015
It was ok - and I was quite tempted to give up about a third of the way through, but decided to keep reading. I found the first half to be boringly, sickly over sentimental, lovey-dovey skim-reading stuff. However, the second half made up for this and I was glad I'd decided to finish it. There was only one real "baddie" in the main characters - the others were paragons of virtue.
June 7, 2015
I love this book and have read it several times since I first discovered it. I have now read all of Elizabeth Elgin's books and they are all of a high standard. The books about the Sutton's are the best though.
November 10, 2014
A superb tale, and topical for this time of year and with the Poppies installation at The Tower of London. Disappointed to not find the next book in the series, Daisychain Summer, available in e-book format. Managed to obtain a secondhand copy from Amazon, new ones were out of stock.
May 5, 2016
Great book - really enjoyed it ! This is Book 1 of 5 but I've just found that not all of them are available on Kindle....including Book 2 so I'll have to go retro & order it in hardcooy!
Well written, great characters & plenty of story.
Well written, great characters & plenty of story.
June 6, 2013
Beautifully written and wonderfully evocative.When love survives war, when passion suffers heartbreak, when tragedy discovers hope.
February 16, 2021
If you like ww2 sagas this is the book
March 23, 2024
I really enjoyed the story, not so much the end. It feels like a roller coaster which takes very long to start the ride.
August 25, 2008
I found this author, whose books remind me of Upstairs Downstairs, in a charity shop in England the week Princess Diana died.
March 21, 2011
I really enjoyed this book - so much so that I went straight on to the 2nd book in the 'Sutton' series
October 1, 2014
Toooo awful to ever think about again.
January 26, 2015
Great read. Good insight into the lives effected by the 1st World War.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews