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Elaine Everest

Auteur van The Woolworths Girls

17 Werken 148 Leden 19 Besprekingen

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Werken van Elaine Everest

The Woolworths Girls (2016) 22 exemplaren
Christmas at Woolworths (2017) 20 exemplaren
Wartime at Woolworths (2018) 19 exemplaren
The Butlins Girls (2017) 18 exemplaren
A Gift from Woolworths (2018) 16 exemplaren
Christmas with the Teashop Girls (2020) 14 exemplaren
The Teashop Girls (2019) 8 exemplaren
The Woolworths Saturday Girls (2022) 6 exemplaren
Wedding Bells for Woolworths (2020) 5 exemplaren
The Patchwork Girls (2021) 4 exemplaren
A Mother Forever (2021) 4 exemplaren
Diamonds and Pearls (2011) 3 exemplaren
Carols at Woolworths (2017) 2 exemplaren
Gracie's War (2015) 2 exemplaren
The Woolworths Girl's Promise (2023) 2 exemplaren

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I always love Elaine Everest's books and was really pleased when I heard a new Teashop Girls book was on the way. It seems ages since the first two books and so it took me a little settling into this one to remind myself of the characters and their lives. I was soon back into the swing of life in Ramsgate and Margate though.

We meet up again with Rose, Lily and Katie. They all work for Lyons Teashops, either in management roles or as 'Nippies', the name given to the Lyons waitresses. It's 1942, the war shows no signs of coming to an end and the girls are more used than ever to heading for the Ramsgate tunnels, where so much time was spent during air raids. It was lovely to catch up with the three women again, along with Flora, Rose's mother and landlady of the Sea View Guesthouse. If Ruby is the matriarch of the Woolworths books then Flora fulfils that role in the Teashop books and I loved how she was the person that everybody turned to, whether it was with good news or bad. Mildred and Miss Tibbs, longstanding residents of the guesthouse are back too and Mildred in particular has quite an unexpected role to play in events.

There's an exciting storyline involving Anya, a young Polish woman. I was so exasperated with her at times but I tried to tell myself that although we now have so much knowledge of the war looking back, it must have been so different to live through it on a day to day basis. There are ups and downs for all the characters in one way or another, but they always pull together and solve problems as a friendship group which is so enjoyable to read. There's so much solidarity and camaraderie in this story! I'm guessing there might be more books in this series in the pipeline. I do hope so as I'd love to follow the characters through to the end of the war years. This latest instalment was a joy to read.
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½
 
Gemarkeerd
nicx27 | Mar 16, 2024 |
A new Woolworths book is always a cause for celebration for me and this time the girls are celebrating too, although that comes later in the book. The book opens on a momentous day in history as the death of King George VI is announced and although this is sad news, there's a coronation, a wedding and a birth in the offing so there is much to celebrate.

Some of the characters have moved on from Woolworths over the years and the course of the series, but the store is always there as a character in its own right. I love the tales of life on the shop floor and upstairs in the offices. Sarah Gilbert is struggling with the new temporary manager, who is a thoroughly nasty piece of work, not like when Betty Billington was in charge. Betty would like to come back to work but Freda's husband, Tony, is also looking for his own store to manage and it looks likely to be a bone of contention between the friends.

It was lovely to catch up with all the characters again. Elaine Everest writes about them so warmly and I feel as though I know them all. There's such camaraderie amidst the trials and tribulations of everyday life in the early 1950s. I really enjoy how historical events are weaved into the story, not just the major ones but more local ones too, and such things as the increasing desire for television sets which is good news for Alan Gilbert and his shop.

I'm hoping there's lots more to come for the Woolworths girls. Everest moves the series along skilfully with impeccable plotting which keeps the reader invested in the lives of the characters and their locale. Celebrations for the Woolworths Girls was just as wonderful a read as I knew it would be and the news at the end plus the thread about Vera's past left me wanting to know what will happen next for the residents of Erith. I thought this book was simply splendid.
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Gemarkeerd
nicx27 | Oct 12, 2023 |
Regular readers of Elaine Everest's Woolworths series will recognise the protagonist at the heart of The Woolworths Girl's Promise, Miss Betty Billington. A prominent character throughout the series, this book focuses on her early life. We've always known about her lost love, Charlie, who was killed in action during WWI but this book now fills in all the gaps regarding what happened to Betty afterwards.

Don't worry if you haven't read any of the other books, as this one in particular works well as a standalone (it goes without saying that I heartily recommend reading all the books though!).

Betty wasn't always the down to earth Betty we know now. Once she was known as Elizabeth and lived with her upper-class parents, with the knowledge that they would never accept Charlie as her fiancé due to his working-class roots and his job on the railway. When they discovered their relationship, even though Charlie had died, they disowned Elizabeth and she found herself down on her luck, eventually taking a job at the beloved store, Woolworths. I loved following Betty's story, knowing where she would end up but not knowing her route there. Full of courage, ambition and pluck, she manages to work her way up with the help of good friends, old and new.

I loved this book so much, just as I've loved all of this author's books. She always seems to be able to portray hardship without taking it too far into darkness, using her research to transport the reader back in time. Betty has a tough time with some of the characters and a stint at the munitions factory proves particularly difficult for her, but it's balanced out by the kindness she receives when she needs it most. My favourite sections were set in the store and I loved reading about Betty's time on the different counters, but really I enjoyed all of it from beginning to end. Full of warmth, grit, comradeship, and hope for the future, The Woolworths Girl's Promise is a joy to read and a perfect addition to a series that I love by an author who never disappoints.
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Gemarkeerd
nicx27 | Mar 21, 2023 |
This was a lovely cosy saga novel set during World War 2, we follow three friends Lily, Rose & Katie as they work in the famous Lyons teashop. My first book by this author but certainly won't be my last, kept me engaged from the start to end.
 
Gemarkeerd
sazruth | 1 andere bespreking | Apr 5, 2022 |

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Statistieken

Werken
17
Leden
148
Populariteit
#140,180
Waardering
½ 3.7
Besprekingen
19
ISBNs
108

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