The Tideway Girls

by Pamela Evans

A heartrending saga of sisters separated by shame from much-loved author Pamela Evans.

It's 1912, and, like all fisher folk in the village of Tideway, the Bow family live a simple life. Edie Bow loves her children handsome Henry, sensible Bessie, spirited May and little Sam. But one night tragedy strikes, and Henry is lost at sea. And when May falls pregnant out of wedlock, shamed Edie sends her daughter to London for an abortion. Determined to keep her child, May stays on in the city, away from her beloved sister Bessie. Torn apart, the girls must face their own struggles without each other, but through even the darkest night, a light burns the love of a sister...

528 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Leigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in a seaside little fishing village where traditions mean everything, The Tideway Girls follows the lives of the Bow family and more specifically the two Bow sisters Bessie and May. The Bow family is much like every other family in the village, father George and oldest son Henry go out fishing to earn their living and work on the yachts of the wealthy during the down times. Mother Edie cares for the home and the family, Bessie works as an assistant to a local photographer and May works in a clothing store while the baby Sam is still at school. The Bow family is torn apart by two major events that take place close together. Henry is lost at sea, Edie devastated by the loss of her favourite child is unable to take what comes next as May announces she is pregnant by a wealthy man who is about to marry someone else. Edie disowns May when she refuses to abort the baby and May heads to London to live with Edie's sister Winnie and her husband Albert. Despite being forbidden to come home, the two sisters maintain their close friendship through letters and occasional visits. As the years go by both girls get married, May to a young man named Archie who works in the same market she and her aunt and uncle work at, and Bessie to a teacher named Jim who rents a room from her parents. The peace is shattered when war is declared and both sisters see their husbands go off to war, both left with small children to care for on their own. Bessie begins a career in photography to help make ends meet while May helps out her in laws and eventually works in a day care during the war. The war shatters lives and changes the Bow sisters and their loved ones forever. One sister will be left widowed, the other with a husband so devastated by the war he is unable to emotionally connect with her or anyone. They will also lose someone closer to home from the Spanish Flu outbreak. But ultimately The Tideway Girls is about family, the love between the two sisters that is strong and unbreakable throughout all the tragedy and hardship they face and is a wonderful family saga.

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book although I am slightly biased as it is set in my home village. I love these types of gentle family stories. I wish there would be a sequel, following the story of the extended family into the 20s, WW2 and beyond.

[Emma Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a brilliant book I couldn't put down will read more books by this author