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Portsmouth in the 1920s is a city of vivid contrasts between the comfortable and the destitute. Thousands of men have been laid off from the Royal Naval Dockyard and many are begging in the streets.
Mary Vine believes her luck has changed. After surviving her first nineteen years, fiercely defending her chaotic family against anyone who dares criticise them, she has found happiness at last with her fiancé, submariner Michael Miller.
Cissie Nugent has lost her position as housemaid and is surviving by selling her body to passing sailors. But she has further to fall as she is betrayed by the only person she has ever trusted.
Captain Charles Clements, once the employer of both Mary and Cissie, returns to Portsmouth after a humiliating divorce. Though a hero of Jutland, he must find a new sort of courage to face a future without his family.
Soon the lives of Mary, Cissie and Captain Clements will change for the better in unexpected ways.
Mary Vine believes her luck has changed. After surviving her first nineteen years, fiercely defending her chaotic family against anyone who dares criticise them, she has found happiness at last with her fiancé, submariner Michael Miller.
Cissie Nugent has lost her position as housemaid and is surviving by selling her body to passing sailors. But she has further to fall as she is betrayed by the only person she has ever trusted.
Captain Charles Clements, once the employer of both Mary and Cissie, returns to Portsmouth after a humiliating divorce. Though a hero of Jutland, he must find a new sort of courage to face a future without his family.
Soon the lives of Mary, Cissie and Captain Clements will change for the better in unexpected ways.
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Reviews
Here's a great excuse to put your feet up and escape into a world which celebrates Portsmouth's past...It's really well worth the read
Julia Bryant creates a vivid picture of Portsmouth in the final years and aftermath of the "Great" War of 1914-1918, weaving it into a story that pulses with the warm blood of humanity.
A vividly told and heartwarming saga.
A pulsating and heart-warming saga peopled with human and compelling characters and with convincing dialogue . . . a rich first novel.
A rich first novel . . . packed with interesting people living what might appear to be mundane lives, but of course they are not. We get an insight into the lives of the families of sailors, their good and bad fortune, their ups and downs. Decent people who we want to win through.
Fresh and thoughtful.