The Lost Soldier
by Diney Costeloe
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Eight ash trees were planted in the Dorset village of Charlton Ambrose, as a timeless memorial to the men killed in the Great War. One dark and chilly night in 1921, a ninth tree appears. Who planted it and why? And who was 'the unknown soldier' for whom it is marked? Eighty years later, the memorial is under threat from developers. Local reporter, Rachel Elliott, is determined not only to save it, but to solve the mystery of the ninth tree. She has no idea that the trail will take her back show more into the dark heart of her own gripping family history; to a great, but tragic, love and the sacrifice to which it led, in the war to end all wars. This book was previously published as The Ashgrove. show lessTags
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This engaging novel of love and loss in WWI may be forgiven for leaning hard on the strong arm of concidence to haul itself over the rockier portions of the plot, as it winds toward its heartbreaking conclusion.
Set initially in 2001, the story kicks off when a proposed housing development in a small English village runs into local opposition when the developer notes that the project will require the removal of a small grove of ash trees. The problem is that the grove was originally planted in 1921, as a memorial to the eight village lads who died in The Great War, and some of them still have family in the village.
Sensing the possibility of a good story, a reporter from a regional newspaper begins digging into the history of the grove, show more at which point the narrative begins to bounce back and forth between contemporary times and 1915, when the daughter of the local squire determines (against her father’s wishes) to go to France as a nurse, and convinces a young maid from the household to accompany her. The truly horrifying conditions they find when they arrive at the nursing convent change their lives forever, and those changes form the core of the novel. Most of the action takes place off the battlefield, focusing on young women and their families. It’s only in the last section of the novel that she takes the reader onto the battlefield itself, to view the horror through the eyes of Tom Carter, whose love for one of the women leads him to a desperate act.
Costeloe creates characters here who are engaging though clearly assigned “good guy” and “bad guy” roles, with only the mysterious Nick Potter, whose ambivalence about the development project leaves his motivations in doubt. She clearly understands the class distinctions present in England well through the WWI era, and uses them to advantage as the characters meet the challenges their choices create for them. She also includes an author’s note with an update on the “Shot at Dawn” campaign undertaken to clear the names and military records of 306 British soldiers executed by their own army during WWI for alleged desertion under fire, cowardice, or refusal to carry out orders. show less
Set initially in 2001, the story kicks off when a proposed housing development in a small English village runs into local opposition when the developer notes that the project will require the removal of a small grove of ash trees. The problem is that the grove was originally planted in 1921, as a memorial to the eight village lads who died in The Great War, and some of them still have family in the village.
Sensing the possibility of a good story, a reporter from a regional newspaper begins digging into the history of the grove, show more at which point the narrative begins to bounce back and forth between contemporary times and 1915, when the daughter of the local squire determines (against her father’s wishes) to go to France as a nurse, and convinces a young maid from the household to accompany her. The truly horrifying conditions they find when they arrive at the nursing convent change their lives forever, and those changes form the core of the novel. Most of the action takes place off the battlefield, focusing on young women and their families. It’s only in the last section of the novel that she takes the reader onto the battlefield itself, to view the horror through the eyes of Tom Carter, whose love for one of the women leads him to a desperate act.
Costeloe creates characters here who are engaging though clearly assigned “good guy” and “bad guy” roles, with only the mysterious Nick Potter, whose ambivalence about the development project leaves his motivations in doubt. She clearly understands the class distinctions present in England well through the WWI era, and uses them to advantage as the characters meet the challenges their choices create for them. She also includes an author’s note with an update on the “Shot at Dawn” campaign undertaken to clear the names and military records of 306 British soldiers executed by their own army during WWI for alleged desertion under fire, cowardice, or refusal to carry out orders. show less
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Author Information
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Diney Costeloe was born in London and grew up with a love for writing, She wrote her first book, Tom's Party, at the age of five. She continued writing stories and poems throughout her childhood. When she finished college as a primary school teacher, she started to write stories and articles which were often published in magazines and newspapers. show more Her manuscript, The Slopes of Love , was the first to get published. She went on to write nine more romances. Her book titles include: The Ashgrove, Death's Dark Vale, Evil on the Wind, and The Lost Soldier. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title*
- De verloren vader
- Original title
- The Lost Soldier
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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