Hilary Green (1) (1937–)

Green's story tells of realistic experiences and events of WWII, focussing on entertainers of the day. Merry is a pianist and director of concerts that take place in theatres such as the one at the end of the Pier in a seaside town, with dedicated artists like Rose, a dancer, magician Felix, and Richard, a singer. When war is declared they find themselves split up in different services. Green uses factual events in the story giving it authenticity and although there is some warfare, the description is not distressing to the reader. It's a gentle story with characters the reader can care about. Good for anyone who likes a wartime story with a dash of romance thrown in. As it's the first in the series "Follies" I look forward to more.… (more)

After a chance meeting with a stranger during an air raid, Gina Franconi, a British girl of Italian descent, is encouraged to join the FANYs, an elite group trained to encipher, transmit, and decipher coded messages to and from Resistance agents in Europe during WWII. Since her father owns a barber shop in Liverpool, she struggles to find acceptance among the other mainly upper middle class recruits. Will she meet the stranger again?

Judging this book club choice by its cover and title, I was afraid this was going to be a rather soppy romance but actually I found it a good light read which kept me turning the pages. As far as I can make out the author had done her homework and I shall certainly read others by her.… (more)