The Orchard Girls by Nikola Scott
Genre: Historical fiction, Dual timeline, Contemporary fiction, Women's fiction
Read: 29th June 2021
Published: 1st July 2021
★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
London, 2004. Frankie didn't always have it easy. Growing up motherless, she was raised by her grandmother, who loved her – and betrayed her. For years, the rift between them seemed irreparable. But when their paths suddenly cross again, Frankie is shocked to realise that her grandmother is slowly losing control of her memory. There is a darkness in her past that won't stay buried – secrets going back to wartime that may have a devastating effect on Frankie's own life.
Somerset, 1940. When seventeen-year-old Violet's life is ripped apart by the London Blitz, she runs away to join the Women's Land Army, wanting nothing more than to leave her grief behind. But as well as the terror of enemy air raids, the land girls at Winterbourne Orchards face a powerful enemy closer to home. One terrible night, their courage will be put to the test – and the truth of what happened must be kept hidden, forever . . .
MY REVIEW:
Oh I do so love a dual timeline tale, particularly those set during WW2, and even moreso when there is a tangible thread through which the interwoven stories move seamlessly. While it took me a while to become fully immersed within the story, before things became really interesting, once it did I was completely absorbed. THE ORCHARD GIRLS really crept up on me as I didn't know what to expect but this foray into the past through a mind that is slowly declining is so beautifully written that I was swept smoothly between the past and the present.
London and Somerset 1940: Seventeen year old Violet Etherington yearns to break free of the constraints from which her mother has her tethered. There may be a war on, but that's no reason to let social niceties slide and abandon any future prospects of a husband, for which a woman like Violet is bred. Her mother has lined up the boorishly dull Edward Forester and Violet cannot think of anything worse. So when they attend a society wedding at the Wentworth, she finds herself having to dance with Edward much to the delight of her mother. But when Edward asks if they may have a moment as he has something of importance to say, Violet panics and rushes out into the night with her cousins Romy and Duffy.
But the streets of London in September 1940 was not a safe place to be and as an air raid siren sounds, the three of them rush to find the nearest shelter. They could see the orange glow of the whole East End ablaze and still the Germans were coming back for more. But that night would be a turning point for Violet, changing her and her outlook from there on in.
In the wake of tragedy, Violet's mother decides that they are moving to Yorkshire for the remainder of the war...however long that will be. But Violet doesn't want to go to Yorkshire, so with Duffy's help she makes her escape to the country and joins the Women's Land Army, settling at Winterbourne Orchards in Somerset.
Under the pseudonym of Lily Burns, Violet accepts her new normal, which is far from the smiling posters she'd seen plastered across London, and she soon discovers the harsh reality of working under the brutal hand of overseer Mr Hardwick. The conditions in which the girls must live are near appalling, on straw beds in a cold and draughty barn in which they are locked every night. Not to mention the impossible requirements Hardwick imposes on them, changing the rules as he goes so that they never see the light at the end of the tunnel. He punishes them all for the fault of one, withholding their pay, their mail and making them work late so that they miss their days off. He threatens them that if they complain he will only make it worse for them.
The only light the women have is little 8 year old Marigold, whose family own the orchards that Hardwick oversees. She joins them daily saying little but enjoying their company and even working alongside them. The little girl is starved of love and human companionship in the wake of the death of her older brother Oliver in the battlefields. Her other brother Guy has returned after an injury invalided him out to run Winterbourne Orchards though all he does is shout at her while her mother barely notices her existence.
Then one night, the workers and the Land Girls gather for a celebration to mark the end of the harvest and a much-needed rest. But a tragedy is to come as Violet recognises the stuttering drone of enemy aircraft making their way across the skies towards them. Bonfires are doused and lights extinguished but it's too late as bombs rain down on the fields surrounding them. Will they get out of this alive?
London 2004: It's Frankie O'Brien's 28th birthday though she doesn't really celebrate them anymore. Not since her grandmother Violet Etherington and her father Harry's attempts to outdo the other in celebrations for her. And definitely not for the past ten years since she walked out of her grandmother's house in Belgravia for the last time. But today, she celebrates with her friends Con and Bea as the three of them are starting their new jobs at The London Post. Little do they know what to really expect of the shamelessly cut-throat business.
As soon as her new boss Hugo learns of her link to reclusive socialite Violet Etherington, he demands she get an interview with her as well as the dirt on one of her friends, recently the focus of a highly publicised and messy divorce. When she fails, he has Con throw something together but puts her name to it not as Frankie O'Brien...but as Francesca Etherington. It's clear from the start that Hugo wants to captialise on Frankie's link to Violet and the Etherington name.
But Frankie has bigger concerns after meeting her grandmother again after the ten year estrangement. Although their relationship is strained at best, Frankie cannot help but notice changes in her staunch and stoic grandmother when she sees flashes of panic along with a vague and vacant look on her face. But nothing prepares her for what she sees when she lets herself into Cavendish House after Violet was found wandering vaguely in the park. Notes posted everywhere as if to serve a reminder to her grandmother should she forget. Close the blinds, shoes here, put milk in fridge, one teabag only, turn off hob. And then signs on doors to various rooms - my room, bathroom. And the truth slowly dawns on Frankie. No. Not her grandmother. Not her strong capable grandmother.
Despite their strained relationship, Frankie moves back into Cavendish House. She reinstates the housekeeper her grandmother had let go for fear that she would notice the changes in her and she organises for someone to be with her at the times when Frankie is in the office. When she comes across a photo of four women identifying them as Kit, Joan, Red and Lily, Frankie recognises her grandmother immediately but not the names on the back. She tries coaxing the information out of her grandmother's lifelong friend Jools but she refuses to say anything.
And then the unthinkable happens. Hugo sees the photo and recognises its value and demands Frankie write a story on the Land Girls and her grandmother's time with them, dredging up as many secrets as she can. And if she doesn't, then Con will. But Frankie wants to protect her grandmother and honour her wishes to keep her failing mind out of the public eye. How can she do that when her job security relies on her delving into the secrets of the past and bringing them to light in the present?
But nothing will prepare Frankie for what she is about to discover...
As much as I enjoyed THE ORCHARD GIRLS, reading about the cut-throat behaviour of the media newsroom angered me on Frankie's behalf as much as Hardwick's appalling and brutal treatment of the Land Girls made my skin crawl. The injustice of both aspects made for uncomfortable reading at times but it was Violet's decline into the early stages of dementia that were the most difficult. I doubt there is a person on earth who hasn't been touched or affected by dementia and memory related frailties. It is so widespread and so completely devastating. While I didn't care for the newsroom politics and bitchiness, I found myself completely absorbed within Violet's story both in the past and the present. And what was the secret she and her friends had guarded for over six decades?
The story unfolds through Violet and Frankie's narrative in 1940 and 2004 respectively and is expertly woven together seamlessly. The rich cast of characters throughout both timelines are well developed and add a real depth to the story. There were particularly some love-to-hate characters which gave it that edge and keeps you turning the pages. Full of intrigue and historical detail, THE ORCHARD GIRLS is a gem of a book. It expertly handles the difficult subject of dementia as well as some other darker elements throughout with sensitivity.
Superbly written, THE ORCHARD GIRLS is my first time reading this author and I would put her up there with Lorna Cook and Kathleen McGurl with her cross-genre of contemporary women's fiction and historical.
I would like to thank #NikolaScott, #Netgalley, #RachelsRandomResources and #HeadlineFiction for an ARC of #TheOrchardGirls in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Her first two books, My Mother's Shadow and Summer of Secrets, have both been international bestsellers and were translated widely around the world. Nikola lives in Frankfurt with her husband and two boys (and a kitchen table).
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