The Daughter of Victory Lights by Kerri Turner
Genre: Historical fiction
Read: 23rd March 2020
Purchase: Amazon
(publication date: 20th January 2020)
★★★★★ 4.5 stars rounded up
An historical fiction novel with a difference, THE DAUGHTER OF VICTORY LIGHTS by Australian author Kerri Turner is not at all the kind of story I was expecting. Taking us on a journey through WW2 and the post war era, we are given a completely different perspective of a very different tale that is both shocking and exciting for its time.
Evelyn Bell spends the war years as a trained searchlight operator of an all-female crew for the Auxilliary Territory Service, where they spot enemy bombers for the gunners to shoot down and help keep London safe or guide British planes home. It is dangerous yet thrilling work but Evelyn thrives on it. She is extremely passionate about her job doing her bit for the war effort, despite her uptight sister's disdain, and often finds herself reading up on the different lights and their varying brightness, fascinated about their workings.
But when the war comes to an end, her celebrations on VE Day are shortlived. What is she to do with the rest of her life after the excitement and fulfillment she found in the Auxilliary Territory Service? Her older sister Cynthia wants her to find a husband and raise a family, as all good respectable women do...but for Evelyn that prospect is both daunting and dull. She longs for escape from her already unfulfulling life.
A chance meeting with a somewhat charming man one day leads her to witness a performance so risque it's like nothing she has ever seen before. It is both shocking and exciting and Evelyn finds herself drawn to the mysterious boat, the Victory, where she is invited on board after giving one of the crew a dressing down on their handling of a spotlight. Her outspoken sassiness as well as her knowledge of lights leads her to join the crew as a light operator.
The Victory is a moving stage for risque performances travelling along the rivers and seas, out of reach of the police who may attempt to shut them down...after all, their performances break most of the censorship rules. But despite this, Evelyn (now Evie) is excited at the chance to work with the spotlights she loves whilst doing something fun and exciting. But when she tells her sisters, she is cut off entirely as being immoral and unrespectable. And so the crew of the Victory become her family.
In 1963, we meet 10 year old Lucy who, feeling unwanted and unloved, is uprooted from her unhappy life in London with her aunt and finds a new home with the former members of the Victory on the Isle of Wight. She feels an instant kinship with Bee who takes her under her wing in a motherly fashion, despite not being able to cook very well, and the kindly Mr Walsh. But she was promised that she was coming to live with her father and she had yet to meet him.
In just a few short short weeks, Lucy could feel the love and warmth she had never felt before. Bee and Humphrey told her tales about her mother and showed her photos which she was enamoured with. Aunt Cynthia never allowed Lucy to speak of "that woman" so hearing about her mother now was refreshing. But there was something Bee and Humphrey were keeping from her. Neither would tell her what happened to her mother. She knew this house held many secrets, but no one would tell her anything. Would she ever find out who her parents really were?
Told in two parts, THE DAUGHTER OF VICTORY LIGHTS is an intriguing historical tale that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking. There is tragedy, mystery and complicated relationships aboard the Victory as well as off as we journey with the cast and crew of this fascinating old tramp steamer.
Evie is a complex character and yet she has a simplicity about her. Trying to find her place in the world after the war, she just wants something different. Something useful and yet exciting. She is thoroughly likeable and we find ourselves sympathising with her, both in the face of her sister and the trials that come her way.
Another important character is Flynn. Although the story is primarily Evie's, at first we aren't sure what part American Flynn plays. We are first introduced to him tendering bar in Honolulu in 1941. His life changes in an instant when the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbour and he signs up to the US army. He is drafted to the Graves regiment, where they have the arduous task of cleaning up the bodies in the wake of battle and identifying their bodies. It is a job no one wants but someone has to do it. Unfortunately, it's one that has lasting effects on Flynn and he is never the same again after the war. He meets Alvin in Plymouth and the two become unlikely friends, crossing colour boundaries that was both unheard of and unacceptable at the time. After the war, Alvin takes Flynn under his wing and they join Humphrey and Bee on the Victory.
And then there is Lucy. An illegitimate child, both unwanted and unloved by her mother's family, who finds love and acceptance where she least expects it, highlighting the fact that one doesn't have to be blood to be family. Her story is a sad one but she brings life and hope as her mother's memory lives continues to live on in her daughter.
THE DAUGHTER OF VICTORY LIGHTS is told in two parts - the first by Evie and Flynn with the second by Lucy and Flynn. It is a tragic and heartfelt story that is entrenched in grief, love and loss but also offers a hopeful ending.
An historical tale with a difference, THE DAUGHTER OF VICTORY LIGHTS is more than a wartime story, highlighting post war dramas such as PTSD, unemployment, the rise of feminism and much more. In fact, the war features in just a small part. There are secrets, tragedy and the power of love.
A captivating story from beginning to end, THE DAUGHTER OF VICTORY LIGHTS is unique and original and completely immersive, you won't want it to end.
I would like to thank #KerriTurner, #NetGalley and #HarelquinAustralia for an ARC of #TheDaughterOfVictoryLights in exchange for an honest review.
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