Judithe Little's Wickwythe Hall is my favorite book, so I was not surprised to be the first in a historical novel in this year's Reader's Perspectives Literature Award. It is the perfect blend of history and interesting characters that you care about. On the opening page, the reader has been in the predicament of Annelle, a young French woman who was orphaned with her two brothers and grew up in a monastery. In May 1940, the Germans just invaded France. Annelle intends to become a nun, but now her brother is fighting in North Africa, the sisters of the monastery want to pray instead of fleeing to safety, and Annelle decides to flee the South, hoping to reach North Africa and find her brother. The reader witnessed the hard flight of Annelle on the French road, on her bicycle until it was damaged, and then walked. Occasionally, she left France through a series of incidents, but she did not go to North Africa, but found herself a refugee in England.
This is what happened in the opening chapter.
As soon as she arrived in England, Annelle found herself working at Wickwythe Hall. Other servants suspect she may be a spy, but all Annelle is worried about finding a way to communicate with her brother. The large country manor in the UK is owned by Tony and Mabry Springs. Tony is a famous British aristocrat, but Marbury is an American heiress and does not do things in the same way as her husband and the people around her. Marbury is very worried that the war will soon lead to the invasion of England. She is doing everything she can to help the war, including receiving 23 children from London who are sent to the country to ensure their safety.
Tony and Marbury are also associated with important figures, including Prime Minister Winston Churchill. One week, Churchill came to visit and the house became the center of the war. Marbury and his staff have a hard time meeting all of Churchill's special requirements, but what is more difficult for Marbury is that among the entourage of Churchill, Redcar is an American compatriot who denied it a long time ago. Proposal for marriage. .
Marbury's marriage life is not perfect. She and Tony tried to have children many times, always causing miscarriage; as a result, they separated. Now, Marbury found himself wondering if Reid is still interested in her and whether she is still interested in him. He is flirting, pointing out that Marbury, who he once knew, would prefer to go swimming at night and do other things that Marbury no longer likes.
But Reid is not really flirting at the Wickaway Hall. President Roosevelt could not allow Congress to support him in announcing a war against Germany. He had made Reid his unofficial ambassador and let him and Churchill know about each other's activities. Once Marbury understood Reed's purpose, she asked if he could help Annell find her brother. This request causes a series of events to go beyond what any role can control.
The reason that the Wickway Hall became such a wonderful novel is that the characters are vivid in their pages. I was deeply immersed in their decisions, especially Marbury's temptation to break the marriage vows with Reid. The conclusion of this novel is not the result I expected, but it ended perfectly. Another great thing about this novel is that it is not only accurate in history, but also teaches readers new things about history. Operating the catapult, I have never heard of it before, becoming the core of the novel. It involved Churchill's efforts to prevent the French fleet from becoming Hitler's property against England. I won't talk more about how Little incorporates this historical event into the story because it destroys the suspense of the novel.
I also appreciate the description in the novel. I'm not very big in many descriptions, but I think Judithe Little knows how to give color as much as possible in the description without annoying the reader. Some of her scenes are amazing, such as orphans and landscape descriptions played in the Wickaway Hall. In addition, Little's style reminds me of one of my favorite British wartime novels, Elizabeth Goudge's The Castle on the Hill. Few people know how to assure us of the beauty of the world, while still giving us a realistic description of how terrible and tense the war is and how brave the British are against Hitler.
Around, Wickwythe Hall will appeal to history fans of the Second World War, British relatives like me, and anyone who likes a good love story about power, reality and full-fledged characters. You will find it hard to let go.
Orignal From: The novel collection of the English country manor during the Second World War won the historical novel award
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