A Last Goodbye by Dee Yates
Genre: Historical fiction, Sagas
Read: 2nd July 2020
Purchase: Amazon
(publication date: 1st May 2018)
★★★★★ 5 stars
As a massive fan of historical fiction, A LAST GOODBYE is one of those books you just can't put down. It is heartbreaking, it is heartwarming and it is compelling. I loved the premise, I loved the cover and I couldn't wait to immerse myself into the story...and I wasn't disappointed.
Set on a sheep farm in a remote part of the southern uplands of Scotland, the story begins towards the end of the 19th century with Duncan and Janet Simpson and the impending birth of their first and, what was to be, their only child. Sadly, Janet dies in childbirth and Duncan must bring his new baby daughter up alone. As a shepherd, life on the remote hills of Scotland can be a harsh one but Duncan raises his daughter Ellen and for the first sixteen years of her life it is just the two of them.
It's 1914 and war is on the horizon despite many believing that it will be over by Christmas. But the war in Europe seems a long way from the isolation of the Scottish uplands as life goes on as it always has on the farm. Ellen is nearing 16 and on the cusp of womanhood, rising at dawn and filling her days with cooking, baking, washing and cleaning. She's known no other life than that of caring for her father whom she loves dearly. But he is not getting any younger and the work gets no easier. So when young Tom Fairclough arrives fresh from Yorkshire, hired to assist her father on the farm, Ellen isn't sure what to expect from the new arrival.
Tom has made the move from Yorkshire to Scotland to be near the woman he loves who is studying medicine in Glasgow. His intention is to propose at the earliest opportunity so they can then plan their lives together. Upon arriving at the remote farm where he is to work, Tom meets 16 year old Ellen and is immediately drawn to her openness and direct manner. She takes on the cooking and cleaning for Tom in addition to those in her own cottage she shares with her father and the two strike a sort of friendship.
Ellen has never met anyone outside of the farm, nor has she ever left the farm, so Tom's arrival sparks an interest she is not familiar with. Having never grown up with a mother, Ellen has a sort of naivety about her and is somewhat lacking an education regarding knowledge of the more intimate things a mother would pass on to her daughter. She has her father's directness and, finding herself in awe of young Tom, believes herself to be in love with him. But Tom loves another and after a disappointing visit to Glasgow, he finds himself drawn to the young Ellen seeking comfort in her arms...on the floor of the barn.
On Christmas Eve, when Ellen finds herself racked in the throes of a pain she has never known before she thought herself to be dying. She never expected to be giving birth. So innocent was she that she had no knowledge or expectation of a baby's possible existence. In that moment, Tom's hopes for a future with his beloved were dashed as Duncan insist he marry Ellen. Although he adored his baby daughter Netta, it is soon clear that he is unhappy in his marriage. Ellen was not who he wished to marry and it wasn't long before she too was aware of the fact. The man she thought she was in love with and who she thought loved her began to act out his frustrations with his fists...with Ellen on the receiving end. When Tom signs up for the war, Ellen is almost grateful.
Soon after Tom's departure for the front, German POW's are brought to the area to build a railway line and prepare the valley for the new reservoir. The work is hard and the days are long and when one of the prisoners takes ill, Ellen is approached by the captain in charge of the camp and is asked to care for the sick man, Josef Kessler. His convalescence is long and although he speaks no English, Ellen teaches him and they become friends. Josef has a kind heart and, treating her with kindness and respect, he is everything Tom isn't. Ellen knows Tom would never allow her to care for another man in their cottage let alone a German, their sworn enemy, but she has come to enjoy their time together. However, when Tom returns home on leave he discovers her secret and his punishment is as brutal as ever. Affected by his time in the trenches, Tom's moods are unpredictable and his anger more violent. While Ellen's loyalties are divided between those of the man she married and those of the man she loves, she knows that she is trapped by duty to her husband.
I really liked Ellen as she grew from a naive young girl into a strong woman and loving mother. Times were hard in those days and divorce, when things get tough, was not an option as it is today as marriage was a responsibility that was undertaken seriously. But she made the best out of a difficult situation. My heart ached for her and her love for Josef, knowing it was forbidden and could never be.
I also really like Josef. He was a sweet and kind man and everything Tom wasn't. As well as being a German POW, it also highlighted the fact that not all Germans were the enemy. They were just pawns in an even bigger game. That's all war ever is. His friendship with Ellen was beautiful and he was just one of the sweetest people in the story.
I did not, however, like Tom. Not from the first moment he came into the story. He had an air of arrogance about him, so sure was he of marrying Clara that he didn't entertain the idea that she may not want to. Then when he took Ellen on a bed of straw in the barn I thought how selfish of him to think only of his needs without sparing a thought for the young girl he is using. I knew right away that Ellen was pregnant even when she didn't and when baby Netta was born and he knew then he had to marry her, I knew this wasn't going to end well. But when he took his hands to her and dealt his vicious blows, I despised him even more. I've been on the receiving end of those blows and no amount of excuses or apologising makes it alright. I also knew his apologies would be shortlived...as were his promises to be more considerate of his wife.
I actually chose to read A LAST GOODBYE because its sequel "Home on the Hills" came up in my Netgalley list and, as I already had this book, I decided to read it now and I am glad I did. It is beautiful, it is heartbreaking and it is an emotional rollercoaster that you just don't want to get off. Within a short space of time, I found myself so addicted to the story that I couldn't escape, nor did I want to. Not until I discovered how it would end for Ellen, for Tom and for Josef.
A LAST GOODBYE is so well written the story just consumes you. The ending, when it comes, it so bittersweet, so heartbreaking and yet so beautiful. In short, I absolutely loved this book! And I cannot wait to dive straight into its sequel to see where the story goes from here.
A definite recommend for lovers of historical fiction.
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