The Shut- Away Sisters by Suzanne Goldring -Historical/contemporary fiction
It's 1999 and Kate finds her partner David is having an affair and
so returns to her parents. She is aware that her Great Aunt Florrie
is in hospital, possibly unlikely to return home so her father suggests
she use Florries house for now until one or other of them get
sorted. Alternate chapters take us to Florrie as a young girl in the
first world war telling how her sister spends all of her time writing
to her beau whilst young Florrie helps her mother. The war take
s its toll and few families are left unscarred. Florrie and her family
then have the Spanish flu to contend with. This is the first world
war- no NHS and little in the way of healthcare- what there is has
to be paid for. Kate is busy at work but finds a locked door after
speaking with her father. Maybe whatever is behind this will
unlock more about the great aunts that she never really knew
but wishes she had. I enjoyed this- its an excellent mix of then
and now and the contrasts between the time periods just of
basic life. How we are now so “ busy” but not really- we make
ourselves busy with distractions, perhaps not so different from
someone writing poetry to keep their mind off a lost one in
the war. Of time and generations, of love and loss and
getting on with life. One to ponder on our " busy" lives .
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London, 1915. As German bombs rain down on the East End of London and hungry children queue for rations in the blistering cold, fifteen-year-old Florrie is forced to grow up fast. With her father fighting in the muddy trenches, Florrie turns to her older sister Edith for comfort. But the war has changed Edith. She has grown quiet, with dark shadows under her eyes, and has started leaving the house at night in secret. When Florrie follows her sister through the dark and winding streets of London, she is shocked by what she discovers. But she knows she must keep her sister’s secret for the sake of their family, even if she herself must pay the ultimate price…
Years later Kate, running from her broken relationship, is sorting through her dead aunt Florrie’s house, which she shared with her sister Edith. As she sits on the threadbare carpets, looking at photos of Florrie during the war, she notices the change in her aunt – from carefree young girl with a hopeful smile to a hollow-cheeked young woman, with dark sad eyes.
Determined to put her family’s ghosts to rest, Kate must unearth the secret past of her two aunts. Why is there a hidden locked room in the little house they shared? What is the story behind the abandoned wedding dress wrapped in tissue and tied up with a ribbon? And when Kate discovers the tragic secrets that have bound her family together, will she ever be able to move on?
A heartbreaking historical novel of war, tragedy and the sacrifices we make for those we love. Fans of Fiona Valpy, Kristin Hannah and Victoria Hislop will be hooked by The Shut-Away Sisters.
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