Last Orders at Mulberry Lane (Mulberry Lane #10) by Rosie Clarke
Genre: Historical fiction, Sagas
Read: 29th January 2024
Published: 1st February 2024
★★★★★ 5 stars
DESCRIPTION:
The final book in The Mulberry Lane Saga series from Rosie Clarke.
Sweeping changes are on the horizon and Mulberry Lane is in for a shock...
London 1962
At first it was a rumour that Peggy Ronaski and Maureen Hart could hardly believe. If true, it would turn the lives of everyone on Mulberry Lane upside down.
Peggy could lose her beloved pub. Maggie her acclaimed restaurant. Maureen her business and her home. Everyone had something to lose.
Whilst old friends try to come to terms with the shocking news, the younger generation continue to forge ahead in the swinging sixties. Relationships flourish and new opportunities blossom; the ever changing world becoming their oyster. But family bonds remain strong, after all, it's people that matter not the buildings.
Could this be the end of Mulberry Lane or a new beginning for everyone?
MY THOUGHTS:
"And tomorrow we turn the page and begin again..."
"That's right...It is a whole new story, another chapter of our lives..."
I had tears reading the final chapter and pages of this book. It is the end of an era. I may not have been there from the beginning, but I have travelled alongside side them all from "Stormy Days at Mulberry Lane" and became familiar with the characters and fell in love with the spirit of community that is now left behind. Mulberry Lane has become a character all of its own and it is here that the focus has remained throughout...despite sojourns to the country. They all come back to the Lanes. It's where the heart of their community, their lives, beats strongest.
But changes are on the horizon and the Lanes as they all know and love them will never be the same again. What are they to do? Fight for the community they have lived and grown up in? Or accept their fate and find pastures anew?
It's the swinging sixties and times have changed since the dark days of war that Peggy and Maureen were once caught up in. They survived Hitler's bombs, surely they could survive this disruption too? But Peggy isn't getting any younger, in her sixties herself, and trade has died down at the Pig & Whistle in recent times. Maybe their patrons have caught wind of the council's plans and have moved on before they were forced out.
Her children have grown and have lives of their own now. Janet busy renovating properties, Pip about to take on a new job opportunity, Fay married to rockstar Jace and living in America and Freddie living and studying at Cambridge to become a sports teacher. Even her granddaughter Maggie is about to marry Greg. Maybe it is time for her and Able to retire...or at least take on a smaller project to keep them going.
Then there is Maureen and Gordon, Rose and Tom, Shirley and Ray. What would they all do if Peggy were to leave the Lane and the Pig & Whistle sold? But when an opportunity comes knocking, do they accept it? Or keep looking? What do these changes mean for everyone and the home they know and love?
While this is only a short read, there is a lot packed into it as Rosie Clarke gathers us to bid farewell to the characters we have come to know and love over the years. While times are changing and life goes on, this book highlights the steadfast love of family in the wake of new relationships as the doors begin to open up for the next generation.
I love Rosie Clarke's sagas and while it was sad to bid farewell to Mulberry Lane and its residents, I know I can go back and start the series from the beginning and meet them all over again and those I never knew because they had already gone by the time I joined the series. And I look forward to doing so.
This book is a fitting end to a wonderful saga series I have enjoyed being a part of. I was almost sad to see it end and not join them in their new ventures. But that's would be another story altogether. A new place, a new start, new beginnings. In the words of Able and Peggy in the closing lines of the book...
"And tomorrow we turn the page and begin again..."
"That's right...It is a whole new story, another chapter of our lives..."
Thank you for giving us the community of Mulberry Lane and for sharing their lives and loves with us. A beautiful, fitting farewell.
I would like to thank #RosieClarke, #Netgalley and #BoldwoodBooks for an ARC of #LastOrdersAtMulberryLane in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Rosie loves shoes, especially those impossibly high heels you can buy and has a gorgeous pair of Jimmy Choos but can't wear them so they sit on the mantlepiece.
Rosie also writes under the name of Anne Herries and Linda Sole.
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