Lecia Cornwall

Author Lecia Cornwall says she found inspiration for That Summer in Berlin when she happened upon an article about young English debutantes being sent to Germany to experience the culture and find husbands. Many believed, even as late as 1939, with war just weeks away, that if the upper classes of the two countries intermarried, another conflict could be avoided. "The idea of titled English debs dancing with young Nazi officers as the threat of war loomed" formed the first thread of the show more story, Cornwall recalls. The story began to take shape as she learned about the 1936 Olympics which Hitler was convinced by his advisors "would provide a wonderful way to use propaganda to impress the world and show off Aryan culture and superiority." Readers might be surprised to learn that many rituals devised by the Germans for those games continue, including lighting the Olympic flame. During the games, the Germans hid the antisemitism and violence that had already taken hold in the country, putting on a deceptive show of brotherhood and goodwill. Lastly, Cornwall researched 1930's English society, and found that many admired how Germany recovered from the defeat it suffered in World War I to become a world power in steel and chemistry. While the United States and England were mired in Depression, Germany seemed to be flourishing. Great societal changes were occurring, including the entrance, of necessity, of increasing numbers of women into the workplace. Dorothea Lange came to prominence with her starkly beautiful and often heartbreaking photographs depicting the realities of life in the 1930's as the Depression raged on. Cornwall says she "made Viviane Alden a photographer and let her use her camera to tell the truth others tried to hide." The character of Tom Graham is her homage to Matthew Halton, a daring and revered Canadian reporter.

The result is an absorbing story of two people who meet by happenstance, but agree to combine their talent and determination to gather and relay evidence that Germany, under the control of a madman, is intent on taking the world into another war.

As the book opens, Viviane has just broken off her engagement to Philip who, at first glance, appeared to be the perfect man for her -- rich, handsome, titled, and able to give her a life of privilege. However, it became clear they had nothing in common, especially their politics and views on the roles of husband and wife. Viviane's mother is distraught because she is insistent that Viviane must find a suitable husband to provide for her -- Viviane working for a living is unthinkable. The family is gathered at Halliwell for the wedding of Viviane's step-sister in which Tom Graham will serve as best man. They meet when Viviane is determined to go for a swim, despite a brewing storm, on the seventh anniversary of her beloved father's death. He was a celebrated war hero who sustained permanent and, ultimately, fatal injuries to his lungs as a result of a gas attack during World War I. Putting aside his own safety, he returned to the battlefield over and over to rescue his soldiers. His death changed Viviane, making her "harder, sharper, fiercer."

No one knows that, credited as an anonymous photographer, Viviane has been surreptitiously supplying photographs to the newspaper. She slips away to photograph a march of the British Union of Fascists, scheduled on the same day as a workers' march, which Tom is also covering with an assigned photographer. When the two groups meet and the encounter erupts in violence, Viviane fearlessly captures the events on film. Tom thinks he recognizes her at the scene, and becomes convinced when he sees her photographs published in the newspaper.

Tom is the twenty-five-year-old son of a single, Scottish mother and the Earl of Strathwood who provided for him financially, including his education at Cambridge, but has never acknowledged him publicly. Tom has only met his father twice, and has no interest in curating a relationship with him or his half-siblings. Aside from his education, Tom has made his own way in the world, successfully straddling the working and upper classes to his advantage. So he is surprised when he is summoned to a meeting with his editor and his father joins them. At the behest of Winston Churchill, he is recruited to work for a new government agency with a posting in Berlin where he will report on the upcoming Olympics, as well as German advancements in technology, industry, and science, and society events. His assignment is to fit in to German society and gain the Germans' trust, appearing sympathetic to their cause in order to gain exclusive access to press tours and secure interviews. He will be required to "write about the regime in glowing terms" in order to clandestinely discover and transmit the truth.

Viviane's stepfather, Lord Rutherford, is a supporter of Germany and its Nazi government because of the way it has restored prosperity and pride to the country. His friend, Count Georg von Schroeder, invites Julia, Viviane's step-sister, to spend the summer with his family in Germany and attend the Olympics. Rutherford insists Julia will be safe, despite news reports about increasing violence in Germany, and when she hears that von Schroeder has three sons and lives in a castle in the Alps, she is intent on going. "Other young ladies are going to Germany, girls from the finest English families," Rutherford explains. "They get a bit of international polish, visit music festivals, see the mountains, and come home with a greater understanding of how the world works. Surely that can only forge closer social ties and peace between our two nations." Julia must have a chaperone, and Viviane's mother is eager to press her into service. Viviane does not want to go to Germany, but knows that if she remains in England, her mother will continue attempting to force her into marriage.

When Tom learns that Viviane has a chance to spend the summer in Germany, he urges her to "use your talents, expose terrible wrongs with your photographs, possibly even prevent another war." He reveals he learned her secret the day of the riot and convinces her that they will make a good team, especially since he knows why she ended her engagement. She will be the guest of a Count, and have access to places Tom does not. She will be free to take as many photographs as she wants because no one will suspect she is anything but an English socialite on holiday, snapping pictures for her photo album.

Viviane and Julia are welcomed into the von Schroeder family home. They are high-ranking members of the Nazi party. Youngest son Klaus is an enthusiastic member of the Hitler Youth, preparing to follow in the footsteps of oldest son Otto, an Obersturmfürher (equivalent to the rank of lieutenant) with the SD (the security service known to be "more terrifying than the Spanish Inquisition"). Middle son Felix is a research chemist serving as the assistant director of an agricultural laboratory, purportedly perfecting pesticides in order to increase crop production. The Countess is an emphatic disciple of Hitler, while the Count appears more reticent -- which has come to the attention of Nazi leaders -- and openly expresses a desire to see Otto marry an English girl and settle with her in Britain.

Cornwell convincingly takes readers along on Viviane's trek as she, Julia, and the von Schroeder family make their way across Germany to Berlin where they will attend the Olympic games. For Viviane, it is a life-changing journey. At first, she wonders if reports about German activities and ideologies were exaggerated. She initially sees a thriving, beautiful country, but disturbing observations and incidents tell a different story. Germany is indeed on good behavior -- except when Viviane makes the mistake of conversing with a Jewish man they happen upon and the group proceeds to a charming village in which someone forgot to take down a sign declaring it to be "proudly Jew free." Such signs are forbidden for the duration of the Olympic games so that the multitude of tourists do not have "any misunderstandings about Germany." In contrast, young (barely eighteen) and impressionable Julia is aggressively wooed by Otto, who is clearly determined to marry an English aristocrat, in part, to advance his position within the Nazi party. He lavishes gifts on Julia, one of which Viviane finds particularly abhorrent and horrifying, but Julia is thoroughly smitten and sees only what she wants to see, ignoring Viviane's warnings.

Otto is charming and refined, but Viviane immediately catches flashes of darkness and menacing in his forced smiles and transparently phony gestures of hospitality. Felix is a bit of an enigma. He is witty and irreverent, but also intellectual. And Cornwall deftly keeps Viviane, as well as readers, guessing about his allegiances within his powerful, but ideologically fractured family and to his country. The matter seems settled when he introduces Viviane to his professor, mentor, and the director of the lab where he works, Solomon Hitzig. He has been allowed to remain in Germany because his brilliant work is valuable to and needed by the Nazis, but when Viviane learns about his scientific accomplishments and the history of their implementation, she is appalled and overcome by painful memories. Still, it seems that Felix truly cares for Hitzig and is trustworthy, and when he enlists her assistance, Viviane must navigate a moral dilemma. All the while, she takes photographs of the subjects Tom has instructed her to capture, but her activities do not appear benign to at least one astute observer. Tom warns her not to trust anyone, as he perceives their mission growing increasingly dangerous. Cornwall expertly accelerates the tale's pace and dramatic tension as the Olympics get underway and Viviane finds herself in peril once the motivations and actions of Cornwall's intriguing cast of characters are revealed.

From the moment he meets her, Tom is intrigued with Viviane, recognizing that she is not just a vapid aristocrat but, rather, a deep thinker with dreams and desires. Viviane soon learns that Tom is not entitled and spoiled like the other young men who have assembled for her step-sister's wedding. He recognizes her talent for capturing the very essence of the subjects she photographs, treating her as a capable equal who can make a great contribution to the effort to prevent war. Over time they grow closer, but Viviane must come to terms with the truth about her past. A false narrative informed her choices and self-concept, and she is forced to re-evaluate her beliefs, principles, and desires. Tom faces a similar crisis as a result of his journalistic pursuits in Germany. While he knows that he has helped the war effort by gathering information, his byline has led everyone to view him as a Nazi sympathizer when, in reality, he is anything but. Cornwall's depiction of their introspection is credible and touching because both characters are endearing. Early in the tale she establishes that they are honorable people, both of whom have grown up in worlds in which they don't truly belong. Standing apart from their peers, both have evolved into keen observers and documentarians -- Tom with words, Viviane with photographs. Viviane's father died penniless and rumors swirled about the circumstances surrounding his death, and her mother married Lord Rutherford solely for security. Tom is the illegitimate son of a nobleman who was only able to attend a top-notch college and become enmeshed in the upper echelons of society because of his father's vast fortune. Neither wants to be constrained by the circumstances of their birth or childhood, or conform to societal of familial. Both of them are brave and stubbornly devoted to uncovering the truth, even if that requires sacrifices.

At its core, That Summer in Berlin is a fascinating, pointed, and timely look at a specific point in history -- a summer when Germany sought to deceive the world, using the Olympic games as a backdrop, while secretly constructing concentration camps, expelling Jews and others who failed to live up to their Aryan ideal from their homes and professions, and developing weaponry that would ultimately take the lives of millions. Cornwall examines it primarily from the perspective of an intelligent woman who defies societal expectations. Rather, she plays upon those expectations, using them to camouflage the significance of the actions in which she engages in plain sight.

Cornwall says she hopes That Summer in Berlin will inspire readers "to be bold and brave in their own life, find their own path and make their dreams a reality." Because, as she demonstrates through the journeys of Viviane and Tom, "sometimes unexpected opportunities can lead us to exactly where we were meant to go if we’re brave enough to accept the challenges."

Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book. show less

The Woman at the Front was inspired by a conversation author Lecia Cornwall had with her grandfather, who served as a gunner during World War I, when she was about fifteen years old. Her great-uncle served as an infantryman -- right on the front lines, while her grandfather and the other gunners remained tucked well behind. Her grandfather didn't learn until a few days after the battle that his brother had been killed. All those years later, he asked Cornwall to find her great-uncle's grave. show more When she, accompanied by her children, visited the burial site, she was moved to pen a story set during World War I. Cornwall dedicated The Woman at the Front to the great-uncle she never knew, who died on April 9, 1917, as well as her grandmother, "who told me his brother's story and made me promise never to forget."

While conducting research for the book, Cornwall learned that the British government permitted women to serve only as ambulance drivers or nurses, but "felt it was too frightening, too dangerous, too disturbing" for men to be treated female doctors. Rather, women who graduated from medical school and went on to serve as physicians were required to limit their practices to treating only women and children because because of a belief that there were "some things women could not handle." The French did not wholeheartedly share those views and welcomed female doctors -- but kept them off the front lines of battle.

As The Woman at the Front opens, Eleanor Atherton has applied to serve for overseas medical service and been invited to an interview with an undersecretary in the War Office. However, when the undersecretary learns "E. Atherton" is sitting before him, he unsurprisingly fumes, "Young woman, my advice to you is to go home, sit down, and take up something more useful, such as knitting." Which is precisely why Eleanor used only her first initial. "Miss Atherton" had already been rejected by every bureaucrat she had contacted by letter or attempted to meet with in person. But she will not be dissuaded, reminding the undersecretary that her father, Dr. John Atherton, was once an army doctor and her brother, Edward, is serving at French headquarters. Eleanor, age twenty-three, graduated seventh in her class from the University of Edinburgh just eight months earlier. Her class was comprised of more than one hundred and thirty men -- and just two women.

Undaunted, Eleanor accepts the only assignment offered. She agrees to travel to France to accompany Louis Chastaine home, at the request of his mother, a countess. Eleanor has long had a crush on Louis, whose brother was killed just a few months ago. Being lauded as a hero, Louis sustained a broken leg when the plane he was piloting was shot down over France. The countess is determined that Louis return at once to carry out his responsibilities to his family and title as the last Chastaine heir.

For all of her wealth and privilege, the countess recognizes that Eleanor's talents are not being put to use -- solely because of her gender -- revealing she asked that Eleanor assist at the convalescent hospital but her father declined the request on Eleanor's behalf. He also asked that the countess not disclose the discussion to Eleanor, who is outraged by her father's "high-handed decision." When the countess reminds Eleanor that she has powerful friends who can ensure the development of her career, Eleanor agrees, even though she recognizes that the countess is using her "as bait, something feminine and soft to dangle before Louis, a siren to lure him home," despite her recognition that she is the "least siren-like woman in all England." Even though she is being presented a dare, Eleanor also knows she is being offered an adventure and, at last, "her chance to prove herself, to truly be a doctor." Over her parents' objections, the next chapter of Eleanor's life begins.

Of course, Eleanor is not prepared for what she encounters. Her trip has barely begun when she is accosted on the train by a group of rowdy soldiers. She is rescued by a Scottish sergeant, Fraser MacLeod, who explains that he serves not as a doctor, but as a stretcher bearer. At six-foot-five and strong, he was selected and trained "to find wounded men on the battlefield, to stop bleeding, give morphine, bandage wounds under fire, and get them back to where a medical officer can do more." Fraser begins educating Eleanor on the realities of war and when they reach the Casualty Clearing Station where Louis is being treated, she is informed that Lieutenant Chastaine will not be able to travel for weeks . . . and is a problematic patient. She is warned that Colonel Belford, who is in charge of the Casualty Clearing Station, will definitely perceive her presence as meddling . . . and has the authority to order her to leave. Indeed, he only relents and permits her to stay when Eleanor presents written permission to attend to Louis, issued by a regimental commander who outranks him.

Louis, whose injury is severe enough that it could still result in the loss of his leg, behaves like the spoiled, entitled, and roguish aristocrat he is. He is surrounded by hangers-on who see the war as an inconvenience, popping champagne and partying in the medical facility with no regard for the other wounded soldiers they are disturbing. But Louis is clearly fond of Eleanor because of their shared history and the fact that Edward is his best friend. "Under his careful facade of charm and careless courage, she suspected there was much more." And before the book's end, Cornwall reveals whether Eleanor's hunch about Louis is accurate.

Eleanor soon gets her wish -- the rules be damned, she is pressed into service as a doctor when the war demands it. Convention no longer matters when men are wounded and there are not enough male doctors to treat them all. Cornwall, who endears Eleanor to readers at the outset, takes them along with her on a harrowing journey. Danger, death, disillusionment, and fatigue are everywhere and inescapable, and Eleanor fervently works alongside the other medical personnel to save as many wounded as she possibly can. She learns to catch a few brief hours of sleep when there is a brief respite, practicing medicine under unimaginably horrible conditions without sufficient supplies of medication, bandages, and other essentials. She comes to understand the necessity to triage the wounded by recognizing that some are beyond her ability to save them and providing comfort to those unfortunate victims of battle as best she can. Days pass during which she and her fellow medical professionals do not rest or see daylight because they remain on their feet tending to the endless stream of wounded who are delivered to the facility by Fraser and his fellow stretcher bearers.

Cornwall's thorough research and command of her subject matter is evident throughout the fast-paced, riveting tale. It is a gritty, unsparing portrait of the fulfillment of Eleanor's dream of serving, even though she finally gets the chance to practice medicine under conditions that can only be described as nightmarish. Cornwall surrounds Eleanor with a compelling cast of supporting characters, including fellow doctors who reluctantly and begrudgingly come to respect her talent and tenaciousness. Among those characters is Matron Connolly, the stern, procedural stickler who oversees the nursing staff and resents the presence of a female doctor in the ward she manages. Can Eleanor impress Matron Connolly enough to win her over? Some of Cornwall's characters heartbreakingly succumb to wounds, as well as influenza as it sweeps across Europe and claims soldiers, doctors, nurses, and civilians. "Someone who was healthy in the morning might collapse in the afternoon with fever and die before the next dawn."

The story would be less enthralling absent the eventual revelation of family secrets that make Eleanor's experiences even more meaningful and, of course, the feelings that develop between Eleanor and Fraser. But stretcher bearers "have a bad habit of betting killed, and there's never enough trained men to replace them." Will Fraser survive the war? And even if he does, will Eleanor's attraction to him survive, as well? After all, they come from different socioeconomic classes, and Fraser intends to return to Scotland when the war finally ends.

The Woman at the Front is a beautifully crafted coming-of-age story. Cornwall believably and compassionately chronicles Eleanor's evolution from an inexperienced but qualified doctor yearning to utilize the knowledge and skills she has acquired to a seasoned physician who faces every challenge with courage, commitment, and resilience. Readers will find themselves unable to put the book down until they learn the fate of every one of Cornwall's characters.

World War I does not provide the background for engrossing historical fiction nearly as frequently as does World War II. Cornwall wants readers to remember that it was an important era because it marked a time of great "change in warfare and medicine and so many other things . . ." and is replete with poignant, moving, and frequently tragic stories of sacrifice, loss, and triumph. Like the fictional accounts she includes in the story.

Cornwall hopes readers are inspired by The Woman at the Front and that her depiction of Eleanor's experiences convincingly demonstrates the "good things that can come out of hardship as well. And we certainly need that these days."

Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book. show less

Fascinating solid read!

Compelling story about a young woman’s fight to be recognized as a doctor during WW1 by her family, her community and the War Office. It’s 1918, the allies are being hammered on the Western Front. All Eleanor Atherton wants to do is follow her calling. She’s hampered by the times. Women doctors are given no respect. They “weren’t wanted by the military, the War Office, or even the Red Cross, no matter how competent or willing they might be.” They are seen show more by many as betraying feminine standards in general, and as the weaker sex. Rather than be exposed to the brutalities of the war and life in the trenches, they should have their sensibilities protected. They should undertake “more ladylike pursuits.” I loved it when Eleanor told an undersecretary in the War Office that she didn’t knit, she embroidered to ensure her suturing would be perfect.
Then a series of circumstances has Eleanor agreeing to journey to France for the local landowner, the Countess of Kirkwall, to the Casualty Clearing Station at Sainte-Croix. She’s been tasked to bring home her twin brother’s childhood friend, Louis Chastaine, Viscount Somerton, who’s recently inherited the family title. Louis was the younger son and this is not what he wants. Louis is a talented pilot who just wants to keep doing what he loves the most. Enroute to Arras, at Calais, Eleanor is befriended by a stretcher bearer, Sergeant Fraser MacLeod, a man whose ready acceptance of her as a doctor gives her strength.
A series of mishaps and the surge of injured at the Front has Eleanor tending to casualties, despite the rigidity of the commanding officer and the matron. The wounded and dying only cared that she was a doctor.
Talk about an innocent abroad! There were moments at Calais when she was in real trouble. The scenes at the front are horrific. Eleanor demonstrates she has the stomach and the determination to use her talents, and to answer her calling, legal or not. The truly harrowing experiences described really do expose the human cost of war.
Eleanor finally accepts her fractured familial relationships, which is an underlying sorrow. Her relationship with her twin I found troubling.
Cornwell’s author’s notes give more clarity about the roles and regulations of personnel at this time, and the fighting conditions on the Front for Allied forces. Places mentioned like Vimy Ridge resound for many.
The romantic aspects round Eleanor’s character out, although the coincidences did sort of annoy me, as did Eleanor’s behavior with her family.
Despite this I found myself absorbed in both Eleanor’s struggles with mores of the time and with the conditions on the Front.

A Berkley Group ARC via NetGalley
Please note: Quotes taken from an advanced reading copy maybe subject to change show less

Once I started reading this delicious book, I couldn’t put it down. So, yes, I pulled an all-nighter and it was worth absolutely every sleepless minute. Just as the title suggests – you will be enchanted. The book is wonderfully clever, delightfully humorous and is sweetly romantic. It has it all and, as always, the author fills the story with unexpected twists and turns. The writing is flawless, the pacing is perfect, the characters are robust and fully developed, and the romance is show more enchanting.

I just have to say that I absolutely LOVE the MacLeod’s. You have this huge, gruff, fearsome Highland warrior, Donal MacLeod, known as Fearsome MacLeod. He has had nine wives and a dozen daughters. He has loved all of his wives and adores his daughters. Watching the daughters manage and outmaneuver their gruff father is delightfully entertaining.

Gillian Alanna MacLeod is a ghost in her own home. No, not literally, but it is as if nobody really sees or knows her. They love her unquestionably, but they don’t really know who she is. She is shy and quiet, so everybody assumes she isn’t the smartest among them. They just decide things for her – without even asking her – and she lets them. If she’s asked a question, they answer for her. If she’s speaking, they just speak right over her. There are great hidden depths to Gillian and she longs for love and adventure – the kind of love her married sisters have. While she is quiet and shy – she is also very, very brave and intelligent. While others talk and babble, she observes and comes to understand.

John Erly, an Englishman who has been disowned by his father, has lived in the Highlands for the past five years. He serves as Captain of the Guard for his friend Dair Sinclair (from the first book in the series). John is always ‘the outsider’ and while he is respected for his skills, he really isn’t accepted as one of them. He is charming, caring and very honorable, but he adopts a persona as a rogue.

Gillian first sees John when she stops off at her sister’s home on her way back from Edinburgh. Everyone immediately warns her to stay away from John because he is a Sassenach, a womanizer and he has nothing to offer her. However, she’s intrigued, watches him and becomes convinced that he is not at all what he appears to be. It is all a face he puts on to protect himself. She wants to speak with him, but he avoids her because he has also been warned to stay away from her. On the night of her sister’s masquerade ball, she engineers a meeting with John – and a life-changing kiss. She knows who she is kissing, but he does not.

Ten months later, Gillian returns as a betrothed woman. She has just stopped off to visit with her sister on the way to Edinburgh to be married. Circumstances conspire to make it necessary for John to escort her overland to Edinburgh rather than her going by sea. That means a torturous ten-day trip that John dreads because he has never forgotten his kiss from the mystery woman – and he’s realized that it was Gillian. To add more pain to the task, he is the one who is to act for her father and give the bride away.

The trip is both dangerous and humorous. You’ll love all the other highlanders they meet and add to their entourage along the way. I’m hoping that those Laird’s will end up being the heroes in upcoming books. During that journey, Gillian becomes a hero with songs and stories written about her.

This delightful book has a wonderful ending – conducted in typical Fearful MacLeod fashion. You want to kiss him and bop him on the head – frequently. Gillian’s sisters are also delightful and have their hand in managing their father and getting John and Gillian their HEA.

I always try to include the things I like and the things I don’t like, in my reviews. However, I absolutely LOVED everything about this book. The only thing that I questioned was -- Isn’t a Prologue supposed to be something that happens days, months, weeks, or years before the beginning of the book? It isn’t something that runs concurrent or directly adjacent to the first chapter. In this book, the Prologue just runs right into the timeline of the first chapter. So, my question is – Why not just label the Prologue as Chapter One and go from there?

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"I requested and received this e-book at no cost to me and volunteered to read it; my review is my honest opinion and given without any influence by the author or publisher."
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