Beautifully crafted with characters so real they leap off the page, Nicholls’s period novel about forbidden love and the cruelty of tradition is destined to become a true festive favourite.
Seventeen-year-old Margot Allan was a respectable vicar's daughter and madly in love with her fiance Harry. But when Harry was reported Missing in Action from the Western Front, and Margot realised she was expecting his child, there was only one solution she and her family could think of in order to keep that respectability. She gave up James, her baby son, to be adopted by her parents and brought up as her younger brother.
Now two years later the whole family is gathering at the vicarage for Christmas. It's heartbreaking for Margot being so close to James but unable to tell him who he really is. But on top of that, Harry is also back in the village.
Released from captivity in Germany and recuperated from illness, he's come home and wants answers. Why has Margot seemingly broken off their engagement and not replied to his letters? Margot knows she owes him an explanation. But can she really tell him the truth about James?
Publisher: Andersen Press Ltd
ISBN: 9781783449903
Number of pages: 240
Weight: 361 g
Dimensions: 222 x 144 x 25 mm
"Nuanced and evocative, this is bittersweet perfection" - Books of the Year, Guardian
"Sally Nicholls conjures another era with a miraculous lightness of touch that fills me with joy and envy. Her characters don't just leap off the page, they grab you by the collar, demand your sympathy and surprise you at every turn" - Frances Hardinge
"Gorgeously bittersweet, a festive classic in the making" - Books of the Year, Observer
"An engulfing historical novel" - Books of the Year, The Times
"A page-turner" - Books of the Year, Telegraph
Set just after the 1st WW – a tale of love, decisions made, perhaps for the right reasons, beliefs and accepted ways of doing things. A tale of its time. It’s superb. I loved it. A tale of hope. A wonderful... More
One of those so much needed books to transport you to another time. Courageous, wistful and hopeful. I loved it and will be wrapping it up for Christmas presents.
I was thrilled when The Silent Stars Go By dropped through my letter box! having read and loved Things A Bright girl Can Do, I was keen to dive into Sally's latest offering ... and I wasn't disappointed!... More
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