The English Girl by Sarah Mitchell
Genre: Historical fiction, Post-WW2, Dual Timeline
Read: 10th June 2021
Published: 18th June 2021
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
He is German. She is English. Their countries are enemies. Can love bring them together? Inspired by an incredible true story, this is a sweeping tale about the power of hope in the face of war and the legacy of an impossible choice.
1946, Norfolk, England: Grief and fear spill over in Fran’s small village when German prisoners of war are sent to the nearby camp. After the death of her beloved brother on the front lines, Fran cannot see the new arrivals as anything but his killers.
When one of the mines the Germans are clearing from the beach explodes, Fran is thrown into the path of prisoner Thomas as they rush to help the wounded. Thomas’s kind, artistic nature and his bravery, putting himself in danger to save others, changes everything for Fran. She realises he is a boy just like her brother and was forced to fight in a war he never believed in.
From that day on, there is something powerful and unspoken connecting Fran and Thomas. But as battle lines are drawn across Europe and tensions within the village reach breaking point, they could be about to unleash something neither of them can control…
1989, Berlin: Tiffany arrives in Berlin from London, just as the wall that divided a nation finally falls. With only a few words of German, she celebrates with strangers in the streets, and crosses the border between West and East. In her pocket is a crumpled letter addressed to her grandmother, yellowed with age, that has led her in search of a wartime secret with the power to change her future…
A book that you will carry with you long after having turned the final page. Fans of Fiona Valpy, The Forgotten Village and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society will be absolutely gripped from the very beginning until the final, heart-stopping conclusion of this unforgettable wartime story.
MY REVIEW:
I am excited to be taking part in the #BooksOnTour #BlogTour for Sarah Mitchell's heartbreaking THE ENGLISH GIRL.
I love my historical fiction, particularly wartime fiction, but THE ENGLISH GIRL gives something of a fresh perspective to the genre. It is a tale of forbidden love set against the backdrop of a post-WW2 Britain in a humble Norfolk village with the added facet of the tearing down of the Berlin wall and the reunification of Berlin and Germany once again. I expected the story to switch between timelines throughout the book but this one is different in which the majority of the story takes place in post-war Britain with the Berlin wall featuring in the first and final chapters.
Brandenburg Gate, 1989: Travelling to East Berlin just as the barrier that divided the nation (and the city) finally falls, Tiffany joins the tide of people crossing the newly opened border between the East and the West. But Tiffany has arrived with a purpose. With only a name and a forty year old address on a crumpled letter, yellowed with age, she is accompanied by Ralp who offers to help her reach her destination and resolve a mystery from the past. But what secrets of the past will she uncover? And will she be welcome?
Norfolk, 1946: The war has ended and in a small Norfolk village, Fran and her sister June watch the arrival of German POWs troop down the main street on their way to a nearby army camp they are to be stationed at while undertaking work to diffuse and remove the mines from the beach. As they pass by, Fran locks eyes with the brightest bluest eyes she has ever seen and is mesmerised by their beauty. Even long after they have passed, she cannot get the blonde haired blue eyed prisoner out of her mind.
When Fran is told of a job going in the office of the POW camp, she is eager to take it up in the hope of setting eyes on her blue eyed prisoner again...and maybe find out his name. But when her sister June discovers she is to work with "the enemy" she is outraged, accusing Fran of forgetting how the Germans killed their brother and all the men of families throughout the village and the country. But Fran doesn't share her sister's hate although she understands it and starts work alongside Daisy in the camp under Captain Markham.
Then Daisy introduces Fran to her brother Martin who was deemed unfit for service due to a heart defect. However, others are not so understanding and believe Martin to be a draft dodger, fabricating his exemption to escape service to his country. Almost as soon as he sees Fran when she comes to his rescue in an alley one evening, he is enamoured with her. So when Daisy introduces them he is smitten. The pair fall into an easy friendship despite Martin wishing for something more but he soon discovers that her heart belongs to Thomas.
Interwoven into the story is that of Vivian Markham, wife of the Captain in charge of the POW camp, who had an affair with an American soldier stationed in Britain during the war as well as the PTSD suffered by her husband in the wake of post-war life. There is also the underlying story behind Martin's unfit for duty certificate and the doctor who issued it, making for an interesting take on the historical fiction genre.
Then the time arrives when Thomas is to be repatriated to Germany and the couple face the possibility of being separated. Despite this threat, they hatch a plan together where Thomas will make his escape and meet her at the village hall the following evening. She waits...but he doesn't show. Instead, Martin is there...and with him is a letter explaining everything.
It's at this time we rejoin Tiffany and her journey to East Germany...and it is then we learn the truth about her visit. And we wonder, what will await her at the end?
I am no stranger to historical fiction but the manner in which THE ENGLISH GIRL was written is something of a refreshing perspective and a somewhat different look at WW2 fiction and the days and years following. The forbidden love between an English girl and a German POW was illegal and risked harsh penalties should they be caught. And throughout the story even Fran found herself wondering if it was worth it?
The characters are easily engaging with some likeable and others not so much. The story is thoroughly compelling, albeit heartbreaking at times, and I enjoyed my time in 1946 Norfolk. And I have no hesitation in recommending THE ENGLISH GIRL to fans of wartime and historical fiction.
I would like to thank #SarahMitchell, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheEnglishGirl in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Now she lives in Norfolk again, this time with her husband and three almost-grown-up children, where she combines writing with some legal work – and thanking her enormous number of lucky stars.
Social Media links:
Twitter | Goodreads
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