Nurse Kitty's Secret War (Nurse Kitty #1) by Maggie Campbell
Genre: Historical fiction, Sagas, Post-WW2
Read: 21st April 2021
Published: 5th July 2020
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
A novel inspired by the brave nurses and doctors from the first NHS hospital, the Trafford General, opened after the end of World War II. An inspiring and romantic read for fans of Call the Midwife and The Nightingale Girls.
It's May 1945 and at 3pm, nurse Kitty Longthorne listens, together with the other surgical staff at South Manchester's Park Hospital, to Winston Churchill's broadcast on the radio. Germany has signed a declaration of complete surrender. The war is over in Europe and that day is to be celebrated as VE Day.
The mood in Park Hospital - still full of wounded American soldiers - is jubilant and hopeful, though Kitty is anything but. Her clandestine squeeze and the man she hopes to marry, James Williams has been giving her the cold shoulder for the last week, and she can't work out why. Furthermore, her twin brother, Ned, is still missing in action - his last known whereabouts point to him being in a Japanese prisoner of war camp.
An uplifting, heart-wrenching novel based on the true story of the first ever NHS hospital, for fans of Donna Douglas and Nancy Revell.
MY REVIEW:
There are many historical sagas of nursing set around wartime but NURSE KITTY'S SECRET WAR is one with a slight difference. Beginning on VE Day when news of Germany's surrender to Britain marking the end of WW2 regaled the nation, another war was simmering below the surface. Whilst Churchill lead Britain to victory there were those who felt that the nation now needed a change as the Labour party proposed the introduction of the National Health Service, offering free health care for everyone.
Coming from a deprived working class background, Kitty Longthorne became a nurse during WW2 working at Manchester's Park Hospital. As the nation is celebrating the end of the war, Kitty continues to nurse the deluge of American soldiers on her ward - some of whom are badly injured - coming up against Sister Iris' indignation and Matron's staunch rules. Not content to sit by and watch Sister spew constant hate at kindly German-born nurse Lily, Kitty defends her friend and finds herself coming under Matron's wrath for her trouble. But Sister Iris is the least of her worries.
Having formed an attraction for up and coming plastic surgeon Dr James Williams, Kitty's heart is broken when she sees her friend Violet flirting with him on more than one occasion and James reciprocating. Devastated, Kitty thought she and James had a future as they enjoyed each other's company and made tentative plans together. But now Violet, who was more than aware of Kitty's feelings for James, flaunts their new-found relationship which is soon followed by an engagement ring. Now the woman who had been one of her closest friends makes snide comments and jeers at Kitty's working class background.
And then there is Kitty's family. For many years it had just been Kitty and her mother, since her twin brother Ned went off to fight and her father landed himself in prison. But now her father is back and is wheedling his way back into her mother's affections, planting his feet firmly under the table once again. Kitty's father was nothing but a criminal and she knew her mother would do well to be rid of him, as she had seemingly come to life in the three years he'd been locked up. Now she is reduced to a self conscious skivvy, there to serve her father's every whim. And when news of her brother having been missing in action is now a Japanese prisoner of war arrives by telegram, Kitty must then console her distraught mother.
Between her family life, her unrequited love for James and Violet shoving their engagement in her face at every chance she gets, Kitty throws herself into her work at Park Hospital. As the military patients are slowly repatriated making way for other patients, her work is never complete as there is always someone who needs her care. When a barely conscious woman is brought into casualty as she arrives for work one day, despite it not being her ward Kitty assesses the patient as critical and, taking her straight up the theatre, seeks out James to confirm her suspicions. Although he may no longer care for her, Kitty knows James is a professional and the top of his game. After surgery the woman arrives on her ward and Kitty takes over her care, getting to know Dora and her situation. For some reason, her story seems to touch both Kitty and James, it it's people like Dora who cannot afford a doctor who the NHS would benefit most. And that is why James campaigns for a Labour government and the critically needed National Health Service, much to the chagrin of the other doctors in the hospital who thrive under private practice.
When Labour win by a landslide, it's only a matter of time before the NHS is set in place. But then they receive word that they will be the nation's first NHS hospital, setting in motion preparations that will see Park Hospital go down in history. Kitty knows how much this means to James whereas Violet frowns in disdain at the thought of the lower class receiving the same care for which they used to have to pay for.
For all of Kitty's struggles, she continued to persevere regardless...a prime example of the generation's stoicness in the face of war. But inside her heart was breaking, never more so than when she arrived at the church to witness the love of her life marry another. Was it truly too late for her and James?
Kitty was a wonderful character who was the epitome of nursing - caring, selfless, compassionate - and yet she had a determination and feistiness about her that was to be her strength through hardships. She loved her job and she was good at it. Incredibly loyal to her family - her downtrodden mother, criminal father and reprobate brother - she persevered nonetheless. Her relationships with Lily, James and Matron were all recounted well. I don't want to say much more and give anything away.
I enjoyed NURSE KITTY'S SECRET WAR - which seemed to be everything in between - and the introduction of the NHS which changed the face of healthcare in the UK. I look forward to seeing what comes next for Kitty.
Recommended to fans of historical sagas, wartime fiction such as Nency Revell, Nadine Dorries and Pam Howes.
I would like to thank #MaggieCampbell, #NetGalley and #Trapeze and #OrionPublishingGroup for an ARC of #NurseKittysSecretWar in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Marnie grew up on a rough estate in Manchester, aptly within sight of the dreaming spires of Strangeways prison. She swapped those for the spires of Cambridge University, gaining a Masters degree in Modern & Medieval Dutch and German. She has been a punk, a trainee rock star, a pretend artist, a property developer and professional fundraiser. In her spare time, she likes to run, renovate houses and paint. Oh, and drinking. She likes a drink. And eating. She likes that too. Especially in exotic destinations.
Having authored the first six books of HarperCollins Childrens Time-Hunters series, her George McKenzie crime thrillers for adults were inspired, in part, by her own youth and time spent in The Netherlands as a student. She also writes contemporary womens fiction.
Nurse Kitty's Secret war is Marnie's first book in a new historical saga series, away from her usual gritty crime novels, under the pseudonym of Maggie Campbell. The second in the series, Nurse Kitty's Unforgettable Journey, will be published in November 2021.
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