Lilian Harry Boeken

A heart-rending wartime saga, bringing the reality of the end of war to the people of April Grove and Bridge End.

A vivid wartime saga of colour and authenticity capturing both the harshness and the warmth of life during the dark days of the Second World War.

As the Second World War enters its final year the spirit of the close-knit community in April Grove, Portsmouth refuses to die.Teenager Carol Glaister, forced to give up her baby son, becomes increasingly obsessed by the need to find him again. Ambitious, sexy Diane Shaw leaves the aviation factory for a career in the WAAFs but discovers she is up against far more than she bargained for - in both work and love.And Olive Harker struggles to stay true to a husband she has barely seen since the war began, her love challenged in a way she would never have dreamed possible.

The second novel in the April Grove series, following the lives of working- class families during the Second World War.

Come home to Burracombe - the village where life is full of surprises...

Set in a Lyon's Corner House in London, this is the second novel in the series set against the backdrop of the Second World War which began with CORNER HOUSE GIRLS. 'The Corner House was making a good job of New Year's Eve, despite the bad weather, the blackout, the looming threat of rationing...The Nippies were dashing to and fro with their big silver trays and the war seemed suddenly far away.' So begins 1940 for the Nippies at the Lyons Corner House at Marble Arch. But despite putting on a cheerful face for the customers, the war is taking its toll on all the waitresses: for Maggie, married just a few hours and then parted from her husband; for Jo and Phyl, anxiously waiting for news from their fiancés; for Etty, and the constant jibes she faces about her background; and even for Irene, who begins a new friendship which is not all it appears to be...

The first in the Corner House series, set in a Lyons Corner House in London on the brink of the Second World War. When cousins Jo and Phyl decide to become Lyons Corner House waitresses, or 'Nippies', as they are known for their speedy service, they have no idea how their lives are about to change. They are whisked from family life in Woolwich to digs in London; they are transported from a factory and a grocer's shop to the wonderful dining rooms of Lyons, Marble Arch, and they swap their old overalls for the smart uniforms of the Corner House girls. Jo and Phyl settle in and make friends with both waitresses and customers. There are boyfriends, lovers and fiancés, friendship and romance, but as the Second World War becomes increasingly imminent, the future of these men and women seems more and more uncertain.

An absorbing Sunday Times bestselling wartime saga from this much-loved author.

A warm and compelling tale, part of Lilian Harry's terrific Dartmoor-based series.