Snow Angels (Lovely Lane #5) by Nadine Dorries
Genre: Historical fiction
Read: 23rd October 2019
Purchase: Amazon
(publication: 17th October 2019)
★★★★ 4 stars
SNOW ANGELS by Nadine Dorries is the fifth book in the Lovely Lane series but the first one I've read. I've often come in partway through a series and picked it up, but I do wish I had read the other four first. I found it took me a while to get my head around some of the characters and had I read them in order I would have been able to make sense of them far quicker.
At first, I found everyone to be a confused gathering of characters always in a flutter that I felt as if I was rushing around alongside them. Everyone always appeared to be in a hurry and this made the pace seem rather fast while at the same time being slow for me as I tried to play catch up on those I was only meeting for the first time. However, I was drawn in to the story rather quickly, even if I couldn't follow it as easily at first. But I don't put that down to the book or the author...but rather my own fault for not reading the books in order.
Set around the St Angelus hospital and the Lovely Lane home for nurses in 1950s Liverpool, SNOW ANGELS begins with a young woman seeking shelter from the cold in the Seamen's Rest boarding house. We don't know who she is or what she is doing here - only that she wanted to be near the Lovely Lane home and the hospital. Malcolm runs the Seamen's Rest and did not normally take in women as boarders but rather sailors who've come from the docks - hence the name Seamen's Rest. Malcolm tried to refer her to other boarding houses that would take the young woman in, but she was tired and adamant - it had to be here. Malcolm took pity on her and gave her a small room reserved for single occupants so she would not have to share with drunken sailors. The woman, whose name was Eva, was quiet and kept to herself - her sudden appearance a mystery.
Christmas is approaching and the staff at St Angelus are rallying around Sister Emily Horton and her husband Dessie as the finalisation of baby Louis' adoption nears. Emily is Sister Tutor at Lovely Lane while Dessie is Head Porter at St Angelus under the firm but fair hand of Matron. Along the way we meet many a character from nurses to doctors to clerks to cleaners to housewives - all in some way, attached to the hospital. But the focus on this story is baby Louis.
Little baby Louis was found abandoned in his pram in a garage a year before. He was severely underweight and malnourished that it was touch and go as to whether he would make it. The nurse who initially cared for him named him Louis, by which he became known to everyone. Instead of being sent straight to Strawberry Fields - a care home for children - it was agreed that baby Louis could go straight into the care of Emily and Dessie, who feel in love with him and set the wheels in motion for his adoption. The adoption, however, could not be complete for another 12 months until all avenues and attempts to find Louis' birth mother were exhausted.
Now a year has almost passed and baby Louis, who has grown into a thriving and happy little boy, would soon be their's. But someone is lurking in the background and is watching from a distance. Who is this person and what do they want? And then a complaint is made to child services about the raising of baby Louis - outlining that he is being passed from pillar to post as a handful of women take care of him throughout the day while Emily works. But baby Louis thrives in each person's company with always a smile for everyone...and everyone adores him. But is that enough?
There are also a number of background stories emerging to keep the reader engaged throughout. Nurse Victoria is now married to Roland Davenport, heavily pregnant and living miles away from the Lovely Lane home she had come to know and love. She makes a last minute trip to Liverpool for a sewing afternoon with her friends when the Braxton Hicks she thought was preparing her was actually the onset of labour sends her straight to the hospital to give birth. Teddy, Roland's brother, is a doctor at St Angelus and is on hand when Victoria comes in well into the final stages of labour. With her is Nurse Dana Brogan, whose heart Teddy broke causing her to flee home to Ireland before returning and continuing her nursing career at At Angelus.
Then there is Dr and Mrs Gaskell, Bertie and Ida Botherthwaite and their delightful granddaughter Gracie, Biddy, Elsie, Matron and many more that make up this delightful tale set in 1950s Liverpool.
SNOW ANGELS is filled with the warmth and charm of a feel-good historical novel, with the added Christmas glow as we approach the festive season ourselves. An excellent portrayal of working-class life in the post-war era of the 1950s, particularly for women who were just beginning to flourish. The war may be over but rationing had left its mark and the scars ran deep. Some goods were still scarce and everyone seems to have their own story of loss and yet against all odds they stood in the face of their own grief and loss and made the best of it.
The setting was incredibly authentic for the era and each character unique. I enjoyed reading their gossipy banter, some of which made me chuckle as we saw their various quirks. Some held secrets, some couldn't keep secrets but everyone had their own secrets. And despite their idiosyncrasies, beneath the surface and in the face of adversity, each of them ultimately showed they had a warm heart.
While this was my introduction the staff at St Angelus and Lovely Lane, the series should be read from the beginning to enjoy the characters and their foibles to their fullest extent.
A delightfully sweet story that I ended up thoroughly enjoying, SNOW ANGELS is both charming and gratifying and will delight both fans of historical fiction and the Lovely Lane series.
I would like to thank #NadineDorries, #NetGalley and #HeadOfZeus for an ARC of #SnowAngels in exchange for an honest review.
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