The Tobacco Girls (The Tobacco Girls #1) by Lizzie Lane
Genre: Historical fiction, Sagas, WW2
Read: 2nd January 2021
Published: 5th January 2021
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
'A gripping saga and a storyline that will keep you hooked.' Rosie Goodwin
The start of a thrilling new series, from bestselling author Lizzie Lane which follows three friends through thick and thin.
Bristol 1939. School leaver Maisie Miles suspects her father, a small-time crook, has an ulterior motive for insisting she gets a job at the W. D. & H. O. Wills tobacco factory but keeps it to herself.
She's befriended by effervescent Phyllis Mason and kind-hearted Bridget Milligan who take pity on her and take Maisie under their wing.
But beneath their happy go lucky exteriors they all harbour dreams and worries about what the future holds.
Engaged to be married Phyllis dreams of romance and passion but when it comes there are dire consequences.
Bridget seemingly the level headed one harbours a horror of something unspeakable that she cannot easily come to terms with.
There's great comradeship at the tobacco factory, and with the advent of war everything is about to change and even the closest friendships are likely to be strained.
MY REVIEW:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BlogTour for the first in Lizzie Lane's gripping new saga THE TOBACCO GIRLS.
I have to say I'm a sucker for this type of historical fiction, particularly sagas. I've not read Lizzie Lane before and I really enjoyed this book which, for me, is about family, friendships, love and sacrifice. It begins in a time when a shadow hung over Britain. It was a time of uncertainty and unknowns. But this stoic generation just got on with it, despite the uncertainty and the unknown. THE TOBACCO GIRLS begins a new saga in which we meet three girls in Bristol, each with their own shadows in their lives along with their dreams. This is their story.
Bristol 1939: Fourteen year old Maisie Miles lives in the worst part of the city. It is rife with crime, low lifes and the working class. Her father is a petty criminal, already having served prison time, and her mother is strangely distant. But Maisie is determined to rise above her roots and move out of the Dings (as it is colloquially known) and is is excited to receive a letter offering her the position of kitchen maid at a country manor. But her brutish father has other ideas. Ripping up her letter and tossing it in the fire, he informs her that she is going to the work at the W.D. & H.O. Wills tobacco factory. It isn't long before Maisie begins to suspect her father has an ulterior motive for her employment and uses it to his advantage.
Bridget Milligan is the eldest of seven children and loves to read. She soaks up knowledge like a sponge and often sounds as if she's swallowed an encyclopedia when she reiterates all that she has learnt through reading her beloved books. But alas her mother is pregnant yet again and Bridget awakes in the night to the familiar sounds pre-empting a birth. She is quick to rush to her mother's side who is frantic with worry that it's too early for the baby to come, and at just six months, it won't survive. But Bridget recognises the signs and prepares the bed with newspapers for the impending birth. When the baby arrives, it is clear that had it been full term it was likely it would not have survived. The description given sounded to me like spina bifida, and in those days, it was unlikely the child would have lived. Bridget has watched her mother birth her last two children and cannot imagine why anyone would put themselves through such pain and horror. The thought terrifies her and she resolves then and there she will never marry and therefore will never have children.
Effervescent Phyllis Mason is the life and soul of the party. At least, when her fiance Robert Harvey is not around. Then she submits to being the quiet demure woman he expects her to be. Phyllis' mother is enamoured with Robert and thinks he is quite a catch...but Phyllis is not so sure. He won't let her wear make-up, not even a dash of lipstick, no perfume and nothing that could be construed as revealing. She must present herself for inspection at the beginning of every date where he will always find fault somewhere and she must rectify it before they leave. But when Robert is not around, Phyllis is fun and happy-go-lucky with dreams of going to typing school to enable her to get a secretarial or typing job. She doesn't intend working at the tobacco factory forever. But Robert has other ideas. No wife of his will be working...EVER! Her sole job is to keep the house and look after him. And although she knows she doesn't want to marry Robert, she is too afraid to say so and hope the impending war will make the decision for her. But then circumstances arise that make it almost impossible for Phyllis to do anything but marry the loathsome man. Is this what her life is going to be like for the next fifty years?
The three women work together at the tobacco factory and with Maisie being the newest and youngest recruit, Bridget and Phyllis take her under their wing. The women soon become fast friends and enjoy outings together such as the pictures or just window shopping in Castle Street. But each of them harbour their own personal nightmarish secrets with cling to them like shadows. And as close as they become, they are too ashamed or scared to share them with each other. Of all the women, Maisie is the one that surprised me the most. At 14, she has spunk and an inner strength that serves her well. Soon she is not afraid to speak her mind with her friends, voicing her thoughts and telling it like it is. Bridget is the one with the kind-hearted soul, who would give the cloak off her back for another. She tries to keep Maisie in check at times when she thinks she could get them into trouble. Phyllis, as the outgoing one, soon becomes a shadow of her former self when a secret she harbours dictates her dismal future.
I liked each of the women and it's hard to say who I liked best. They each have their strengths and their weaknesses. Maisie is the most surprising of them all and I really liked her. Bridget is the one I probably relate to best. And Phyllis frustrated me. If she didn't want to marry Robert, then why not just break off the engagement? He has no hold over her until he slips that ring on her finger and they become man and wife. Their families all made for an interesting bunch, a reflection in part of the women they are today.
THE TOBACCO GIRLS is a riveting read that I read in a day! It was easy and enjoyable, though there are a few parts that are a little brutal to stomach. However, we are drawn into each of the women's lives and the struggles they face which is a far cry from the life to which we are now accustomed. Life in the 1940s was very different for young women whose identity became that of their husbands. Women were not meant to have a voice; they were raised for marriage and a family - nothing more. The struggles these women faced were a reality to which they were born but they also wanted something more for themselves.
As it is the first in the series, there are loose ends when the book concludes and yet it still gave a sense of closure for some in a way. The men they either know or have met are now off fighting and readers are left wondering what lies in store for them. I eagerly await the next installment but fear many of the details will be forgotten by then. However, I am sure I will be able to easily slip back into step with Maisie, Bridget and Phyllis when we meet again.
A heartbreaking but heartwarming story, THE TOBACCO GIRLS will have you laughing and crying and rooting for each of the women right up to the end...and thensome.
Beautifully written, THE TOBACCO GIRLS is a book that saga fans will enjoy as well as fans of Rosie Clarke, Fiona Ford, Rosie Goodwin, Pam Howes and Nadine Dorries.
I would like to thank #LizzieLane, #RachelsRandomResources, #Netgalley, #BoldwoodBooks for an ARC of #TheTobaccoGirls in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Lizzie Lane is the author of over 50 books, a number of which have been bestsellers. She was born and bred in Bristol where many of her family worked in the cigarette and cigar factories. This has inspired her new saga series for Boldwood The Tobacco Girls, the first part of which will be published in January 2021.
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