Lizzie Page

Lizzie Page is one of my favourite authors and A Child Far from Home is a gorgeous start to a new trilogy of linked stories about evacuees in WWII. At the beginning of the book there is a paragraph about a study undertaken in 1941 which concluded that separation from their parents was a worse shock for children than a bombing. It must have been a terrible decision to make, especially for those living in large cities like London.

It is London that houses the two main characters in this book, show more Jean and Valerie, mother and daughter. Jean makes the decision to send Valerie, aged 10, away to the Somerset countryside. Some children had a wonderful evacuation and others didn't fare so well. The book is told in chapters from both characters' points of view and so we see the highs and lows from both sides. I loved Jean and Valerie, and how this book follows them through the war and out the other side. This is a chunky book but I'd have been happy to carry on reading for longer. I suppose you'd call it a slice of life story, with the main focus being on the dramatic and long-lasting effects of the evacuation on both Jean and Valerie.

My heart broke for them but there are good times. Valerie finds solace in radio and I particularly enjoyed how it ended up being prominent in her life. Jean has a war that many women had, being needed and stepping into the breach, only to be cast aside when the men came home. It's hard to put myself in the place of either of them but with the help of Lizzie Page's empathetic writing I can at least understand it a lot better.

I really loved A Child Far from Home. Even the most minor characters stand out and are perfectly described, and the role of a woman in a man's world is explored to great effect. It's ideal for anyone who likes books about life on the home front. I'm very much looking forward to book two now. show less

I've loved all of the books in the Shilling Grange series by Lizzie Page but all good things must come to an end and so it is that An Orphan's Wish, book five, is the final instalment. However, it couldn't have been better and I closed the book with a very satisfied look on my face and a tear in my eye.

We return again to the children's home in Suffolk where Clara Newton is the housemother. After a shaky start there in 1948, we're now in 1953 and Clara is a dab hand (most of the time) at show more dealing with all that 'her' children throw at her. She's also planning her wedding to Ivor (at long last!) but nothing ever seems to go entirely to plan for Clara and floods on the east coast seem, for a while at least, like they might derail the rest of Clara's life.

I found myself thinking back nostalgically to book one, when Clara and Ivor first met, and the ups and downs of their relationship since. It's felt like I know all the characters, the adults and the children. Little Peg with no speech (oh Peg!), tricky but charming Clifford (who I really hoped would reappear) - each child has had the opportunity to build up their personalities over the course of the series and so I was thrilled to read the "Where are they now" section at the end which made them seem even more real to me.

I LOVE Lizzie Page's writing style. The wry observations never fail to make me smile and the characterisations are brilliant. I have been thoroughly immersed in 1950s Suffolk, the austere post-war years and I really felt for Clara with her dilemma of wanting to be a wife to Ivor but not wanting to give up her job at Shilling Grange.

An Orphan's Wish is full of heart and soul, life and joy, heartbreak and love. I'm sad to leave it all behind but am so so glad I read these truly wonderful books. show less

The Children Left Behind is book four in Lizzie Page's Shilling Grange series and we return to the children's home in Suffolk in 1951. Clara Newton, the housemother, is looking after her little group of orphans: Peg who still doesn't speak, Gladys who is missing her brothers and doesn't know where they are, and Florrie who barely eats. Clara loves her work and knows that if she marries Ivor, her man from across the road, she'll have to give it up, and her heart is torn in two.

There never show more seems to be a dull moment at the home as somebody launches a series of attacks. One or two might just seem like the work of kids but as they mount up it becomes quite scary. New residents come along and happily we hear or see what is going on with some of the ones who have left, such as Peter, Maureen and Clifford. Clara also has a couple of blasts from her past to contend with.

I love this series and I loved this book. I think Clara is a brilliant creation who sometimes seems a bit weary and put-upon (albeit with some razor-sharp inner thoughts) but then, when it matters most, she stands up for herself and those she loves, which includes the children who occupy such a huge place in her heart. In this story she's dealing yet again with men in power and the haphazard, lack of care way the council record the children in their homes.

A little slice of history, with some major events of the early 50s weaved into the story, I found The Children Left Behind to be a gorgeous story of family in all its guises. The characters are just that, real characters, quirky and perfectly drawn. I'm looking forward to book five now and to seeing how the author winds up the series, particularly the thorny issue of Clara and Ivor. show less

I'm a huge fan of Lizzie Page's books. I always enjoy her blend of fact and fiction, and her beautifully written stories.

The Forgotten Girls tells the story of Elaine Parker, a clerical girl in London in 1943. Her job is important and she enjoys it. Her home life is complicated. It's wartime. Life is hard. Then she meets Bobby, a war photographer, and he changes her life forever.

Bobby is actually Robert Capa, a photographer known for his images taken right at the epicentre of wars. I had show more heard of Robert Capa, but only really in passing. I now feel as I though I know him very well. Page really brings to life the man, his passion for photography, and his passion for life, the kind of person who people cannot fail to like.

He did really have a relationship with Elaine Parker during the Second World War and, whilst Page admits she used a lot of artistic licence with her character, it's also obvious she did a lot of research to tell what she could of her story. I was utterly engrossed in (fictional) Elaine's life and I found the attention to detail fascinating. Elaine lived above a WHSmith and I loved how she popped downstairs to borrow a romance novel, taking care not to damage it so she could give it back. The books filled a gap whilst she waited for Robert Capa to return from his latest dangerous assignment, whilst all the time fretting that she wasn't enough for a man so full of zest and charisma.

This is a story with love at its heart, my favourite kind of read. It has a modern day story running alongside the war story, a device to explore how the past trickles down into the present. I much preferred the 1940s story which is where all the interest was for me, but I appreciate why the author wanted to add those extra elements.

The Forgotten Girls was a really enjoyable read for me, and like all Lizzie Page's previous books, one that had me heading off to Google to find out more about Robert Capa and his photographic images. This is a book populated with larger than life characters, a setting that put me right into the heart of 1940s London, and a story that captivated me. show less