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Kingston Upon Hull, 1941. German bombs are raining down on the city. Racing to the nearest air-raid shelter, Charlotte hears an almighty explosion. Her mother's haberdashery shop has taken a direct hit, reducing the shop to a pile of rubble - and killing her mother outright. Suddenly sixteen-year-old Charlotte is all alone in the world. But then mysterious Aunt Hilda comes forward - an aunt Charlotte never knew she had - and offers her a home in the sleepy Yorkshire village of Mornington where she runs the local pub with her husband George. Charlotte doesn't mind helping out in the pub, but she can't understand why her Aunt Hilda seems to resent her so. Nor why her mother never revealed she had a sister. Everything changes when a group of French orphans are brought to live in the big house. Charlotte volunteers to help look after them - and finds a new purpose in life. Then a band of Free French soldiers is billeted in the village, including a handsome young officer with the deepest brown eyes . . . But Emile has a tragedy in his past - and Charlotte must uncover both his and her own family's secrets if they are to have a chance of happiness.
About the author
Sylvia Broady was born in the city of Kingston upon Hull, a city full of diversities and history, as is the beautiful surrounding East Yorkshire and where her books are set. From early childhood, she became an avid reader and developed her passion for writing, graduating from short stories, serial, novellas and now novels. She is published in hardback, paperback, eBook, large print and audio. She has set stories in the 19th century and contemporary, and now she writes historical sagas set from 1930-1960. She loves to hear people's stories of incidents, funny or sad that they remember and the feed-back from readers is invaluable, and her research is always ongoing. One of her favourite TV programmes is Long Lost Families.When not writing, she welcomes visitors from all corners of the world to the Magnificent Beverley Minster, and sings in the choir of the Beverley Singers.Family is important to her and she has a daughter and her family close by, and in Australia is her son and his family, so travelling is often on her agenda.
