The Mother’s Day Club

The Mother’s Day Club

by Rosie Hendry
Setting: England
Genres: Historical Fiction
Format: eBook

Pregnant Marianne Archer is evacuated from London to the beautiful Norfolk countryside - but the villagers are expecting to house children!

Thea wants to welcome more people to Rookery House - the rambling five-bedroom farmhouse is too big for just herself, especially in wartime. But when Marianne arrives, Thea quickly realises that she has her own secrets.

The ladies of Rookery House are fighting their own battles on the Home Front, but the community will be drawn together to protect their own.

What happens when a small village is tasked with housing a train load of pregnant women from London?

This is a delightful historical fiction book about women during the early days of World War II. Each of the evacuees have strong feelings about their move. Most did not want to leave their homes and families behind. Some have husbands who are going to be going off to war soon. Marianne is hiding the fact that she doesn’t have a husband.

The women assigned to house the evacuees have their own problems that an adult house guest is going to expose. They also are sure that they aren’t going to like these women with their big city ways that are so unlike how women are supposed to behave.

This book captured the feeling of that time and place. England is just getting into World War II and tensions are high. The story is told from the point of view of several of the women – both evacuees and hostesses. The author did a good job of giving them each distinct voices and stories.

There are a few plot lines that didn’t entirely resolve so I’m looking forward to reading a sequel.