The Wind Off the Sea: A Novel of the Women Who Prevailed After WWII

The Bexham Trilogy #2

by Charlotte Bingham

It is 1947, the worst winter in England since records began, and even the sea is frozen. For the women living in the little fishing port of Bexham, the chronic lack of everything from fuel to food has left them reeling. When Waldo Astley, a handsome young American, drives through thick Sussex snow into the village in his large Buick, he finds Bexham filled not only with grumbling residents, but with frustrated wives and mothers, forced back behind their stoves after celebrating the victory for which they fought so hard on the home front.

But Waldo is no ordinary character, and while he has come to Bexham on a personal mission, his effect on all the residents is truly electrifying. For Judy, whose marriage to Walter has been badly affected by long years of separation; for Rusty, whose miscarriage has been mind-shattering; for Mathilda, whose single motherhood has put her eligibility in jeopardy; and for Meggie, still not recovered from her ordeal as a secret agent. For all these women, Waldo Astley is not just a breath of fresh air--but the wind off the sea.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

362 pages, Hardcover

First published February 17, 2003

About the author

The Honourable Charlotte Mary Thérèse Bingham was born on 29 June 1942 in Haywards Heath, Sussex, England, UK. Her father, John Bingham, the 7th Baron Clanmorris, wrote detective stories and was a secret member of MI5. Her mother, Madeleine Bingham, née Madeleine Mary Ebel, was a playwright. Charlotte first attended a school in London, but from the age of seven to 16, she went to the Priory of Our Lady's Good Counsel school in Haywards Heath. After she left school, she went to stay in Paris with some French aristocrats with the intention of learning French. She had written since she was 10 years old and her first piece of work was a thriller called Death's Ticket. She wrote her humorous autobiography, called Coronet Among the Weeds, when she was 19, and not long before her twentieth birthday a literary agent discovered her celebrating at the Ritz. He was a friend of her parents and he took off the finished manuscript of her autobiography. In 1963, this was published by Heinemanns and was a best seller.

In 1966, Charlotte Bingham's first novel, called Lucinda, was published. This was later adapted into a TV screenplay. In 1972, Coronet Among the Grass, her second autobiography, was published. This talked about the first ten years of her marriage to fellow writer Terence Brady. They couple, who have two children, later adapted Coronet Among the Grass and Coronet Among the Weeds, into the TV sitcom No, Honestly. She and her husband, Terence Brady, wrote three early episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs together, Board Wages, I Dies from Love and Out of the Everywhere. They later wrote an accompanying book called Rose's Story. They also wrote the episodes of Take Three Girls featuring Victoria (Liza Goddard). In the 1970s Brady and Bingham wrote episodes for the TV series Play for Today, Three Comedies of Marriage, Yes, Honestly and Robin's Nest. During the 1980s and 1990s they continued to write for the occasional TV series, and in 1993 adapted Jilly Cooper's novel Riders for the small screen. Since the 1980s she has become a romance novelist. In 1996 she won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award from the Romantic Novelists' Association.

Reviews

[Bettyjoy Engelbrecht · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting enough read, but the author tries to make a mystery of the main character which only leads to frustration on my part, because she keeps hinting at various aspects of his character that lead you in the wrong direction. A fair enough family type sage, but I will not hurry to find the next chapter.

[Anita · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story about the role of females in Britain post WWII was peppered with clichés and had a 4 page detailed passage on the moves in a game of bridge!
Apparently after the War, women were expected to stay at home, pander to their husband's every whim (as the men were the returning heroes), sew and daub a little paint onto canvas from time to time. Apart from this, every character in the story spent their spare time drinking G & T's, smoking like chimneys and gossiping.
The characters were one-dimensional, their behaviour adolescent and the dialogue sickeningly infantile (e.g. "While shepherds washed their socks by night" sung by two adults. "He has a bit of a pash" & "You're the one I lerve").
I managed to finish it, mainly to find out if it improved - as presumably it was a Bestseller! It didn't - the story had a predictable ending. It read like a bad Noel Coward play. Infinitely forgettable!

[The Twins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good insight on how life was just after WW2 - Britain won the war but life doesn't feel like it...interesting how women had to adjust back to their pre-war life pretty much behind the stove but had completely different lifes during the war - doing real men’s work and pretty much running the day to day life in Britain.

[Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great sequel. More great insights into the devastating effects of a war on home soil. Things I had never even thought of.

[Karen Atis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Even one star is generous but the editing didn't help at all. Poorly written although a basically enjoyable story.

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Wind off the Sea by Charlotte Bingham is my first challenge read for the year. The challenge is the Blankets and Bronte' 2019 Reading Challenge.

This is for the "a book recommended by someone you love" category. My brother sent me this book for my birthday in October of 2016. Bought darn time I got to it!

The Wind off the Sea is set in a seaside village in Sussex, England. It starts out in the winter of 1947. The war has ended, some of the men have come home and others never will. The women have left their wartime jobs to once again tie on aprons and take up their positions in the home.

Can you imagine having built bombs, worked as a spy, been a driver for the generals, and then forced back into that smaller existence once the men come back? This novel touches on that scenario quite a bit.

It really about is the inner workings of a small town and how folks react when an outsider, an American, arrives with every indication that he is going to stay. It's fun to watch small town mindsets turned on their ear, or in some instances, validated and made stronger.

The novel really has six or seven main characters who are all tied together in various ways. It was a charming and fun read. I'd pick up more by this author if I were to run across them.

Join our reading challenge here --> https://www.facebook.com/groups/16030...

[Patricia Hoesel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, ever though it's not really a novel of the women who prevailed after WWII. It's more of a story of people after the war, and learned to live and get along. It takes you to a small town in Britain where a stranger appears and helps make things go smoothly.

[susan palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walcott and Meggie

I'm crying now such a sweet sad story beautifully written thank you and I enjoy all your characters continue on writing.

[Donna Chappell · Rating 3 out of 5]

a fun-to-read, affirmative book

[Susan Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasant read, sad ending. Again though could have done with lots of editing and I skipped through the very boring “bridge game” scene - not sure why so much detail was given to that.

[Someone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a nice casual read. Nothing less, nothing more.
It was just a bit too 'everyday life' tone to the whole story that made it feel a bit boring in places, but overall, it was a good time waster.

[Tracy Shanahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't realise this was part of a series which led to a bit of initial confusion with characters. Getting to end and reading - to be continued - was also frustrating as there are so many loose ends.

[Catherine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started this book a couple months ago . It took ages to get into. I must put it down for some reason with only 75 pages to be read . I have just finished reading it , but don't recall any of the characters or rest the story. Obviously didn't inspire me!!!!

[Outlander · Rating 1 out of 5]

Post WW2 drama follow up to 'The Chestnut Tree' (4 stars from me on this title), set in the fictional coastal village of Bexham beginning in 1947's harsh winter. All the same cast of brave ladies plus one America. The atmosphere of this installment was not as good so this one only gets one star. Here's hoping that part three lives up to part one.

[glittering reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

it is readable at least I have not put it down and i want to finish the trilogy

[Helen Birkbeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hadn't come across this author before but I enjoyed the book so much that I have ordered the sequel. The descriptions of Bexham made me want to be there and almost all the characters were believable and pleasant. I sympathised with the women dealing with the aftermath of the war. It was so nice to read a feel-good story, which made the sad ending more unexpected. The only negatives were a long description of a bridge game, which I skipped over, too much smoking (though no doubt true for the time), a lack of hyphens and some poor editing, and the fact that nearly all the women were rich and stunningly beautiful, which is a bit unrealistic! We didn't find out who the woman in the photo was, so maybe in the next book...?

[Jae · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars almost a 3 until .....what was the writer thinking! I did not count the pages but there were a few pages of the most boring writing when she decided to spend way too long describing a bridge game ! C'mon a bridge game ... Of all things seriously who gives a f--- . I flipped those pages without ever glancing at them and I never do that. And the tone of the writing seemed to change for me after that couldn't get back into it as i was distracted by the thoughts of someone seriously writing pages of work about a bridge game.

[Laura Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

Re-read "The Chestnut Tree" right before this to refresh the storylines in my memory. I had rated "The Chestnut Tree" 3 stars, but it is more a 3 1/2. "The Wind Off the Sea is more a straight 3. The ending was so unexpected, despite the many hints. I am now hoping to finish the trilogy soon. I will certainly miss these characters.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't actually finish the book - got about 2/3 of the way through and finally gave up. The central premise just didn't work for me and the characters I found so engaging in the first book in the series were just annoying me. I really didn't care what happened to them.

[Andrew Mills · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this story, first I was not aware it was a sequel, so I think something was missing from the start. The plot didn't reach any great heights, and it took 500 pages until something actually grabbed me. It just sort of meandered along until then. Not high on my re-read list.

[Mark Damaroyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently read this superb book in my new home in Thailand. It reminded me of my postwar childhood in England. Homesick? Well, okay, now and again.

[Marie-José · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful story with such a sad ending...