I am delighted to introduce a new WW2 saga by Maisie Thomas. A New Home at the Wartime Hotel was published by Boldwood Books on 27th March.
The first in a nostalgic and
heart-warming
WWII saga series by bestselling author Maisie Thomas, that
readers of Ellie Dean and Lesley Eames will love.
Manchester,
1941
Kitty learned
early on in her marriage that her husband, Bill Dunbar, isn’t
reliable with money. So when
they inherit the Dunbar family hotel at the start of the war, she’s hopeful
that their financial worries
are over…
until
the bailiffs turn up! With Bill away
fighting, it’s
up to Kitty to turn things around
for her family, or risk ruin.
Lily worked
as a chambermaid at Dunbar’s
before the war. She met Daniel there, but their relationship
was complicated by class differences and the disapproval of Daniel’s
mother.
Now Lily is pregnant
–and
with Daniel away at sea, she is all alone. When tragedy strikes, will Kitty and
Dunbar’s
come
to her rescue?
Beatriceis
in her forties, unmarried, and working in a job that exposes her to the harsh
realities of poverty
and sacrifice.
She wonders whether the war might give her the opportunity to change lives for
the better -including
her own. But when she’s accused of a crime she didn’t commit, the future looks
bleak… until Kitty makes a surprising suggestion.
Can
the community
around Dunbar’s
hotel pull together and provide a beacon of hope and resilience,
in the dark days of war,
My Thoughts
Coming from Manchester, I loved the setting for this novel and recognized some of the places mentioned. This series starts back in the 1920’s and you get a feel for the relationship between Kitty and her husband. It is interesting to then fast forward to the early years of the Second World War to see how life has turned out for her and whether anyone has changed. Kitty certainly has a determined streak and a strong sense of right and wrong. Her attitude towards credit is the opposite of her husbands and she soon shows that she will stop at nothing to preserve her life style and that of her daughter. In common with other women of the time, Kitty is wondering whether there are opportunities for her to work and achieve. Another such one is Beatrice whose early childhood has given her an empathy for young people whose life chances have been harmed. The third woman we meet is Lily, a younger, less confident young woman who longs for stability.
Though the three women’s stories, which interweave around the Dunbar Hotel, you see a lot about women’s lives of the time. There are some very strong female characters in the story, all with their tales to tell. There is plenty of period detail, with rationing, clothing, homes all under the spotlight. Daily life is certainly not easy but there is a can do attitude which makes for a warm and hopeful story.
In short: wartime lives brought to life.
About the Author
Susanna Bavin and Polly Heron. As Polly, she writes the
1920s saga series, The Surplus Girls. As Susanna she has written four
stand-alone sagas and is also a new WW2 saga series, The Home Front Girls, of
which the first three books will be published in 2024. Maisie was born and
brought up in Manchester, which provides the
location for her Railway Girls novels. She now lives on the
beautiful North Wales coast with her husband and their two rescue cats. They
have enjoyed many holidays chugging up and down the UK’s heritage steam
railways and their favourite is the Severn Valley Railway.
You can follow Maisie here: Facebook | X (Twitter)
Look out for the rest of the tour!
