Product Description

England, 31st August 1939: the world is on the brink of war. As Hitler prepares to invade Poland, thousands of children are evacuated from London to escape the impending Blitz. Torn from her mother, 8-year-old Anna Sands is relocated with other children to a large Yorkshire estate which has been opened up to evacuees.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #396 in Books
• Published on: 2010-03-01
• Binding: Paperback
• 350 pages

Features

• New
• Mint Condition
• Dispatch same day for order received before 12 noon
• Guaranteed packaging
• No quibbles returns

Review
Elegantly constructed, with a plangent dying fall of a twist in the final scene. --The Telegraph

Melancholic, mysterious and heartbreakingly gorgeous. --The Times

written with such conviction that you can't help but be swept along by its intensity. --The Daily Mail

'A sincere attempt to depict the reverberations of war - chronicling fractured relationships and the inability to love in the right way... Anna is a likeable and memorable heroine.¹ --The Guardian

'...Through a series of subtle plot devices and a haunting contemplation of the different kinds of love that we meet in our lifetime, the story builds to a page-turning and tear-jerking climax.' -- Lancashire Evening Post

'A hugely affecting novel¹ -- The Yorkshire Post

From the Publisher
Shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2010
Shortlisted for Amazon's Rising Stars award 2009
Longlisted for the RNA Romantic Novel of the Year 2010
Longlisted for Le Prince Maurice Prize for Literary Love Stories 2010

About the Author
Born in 1964, Rosie Alison read English at Keble College, Oxford. She spent over ten years working in television, as a producer-director of arts documentaries (her director credits include The South Bank Show, Omnibus and Grand Designs). Currently Head of Development at Heyday Films in the UK the production company of the Harry Potter film series she has recently co-produced two feature films (The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas and Is There Anybody There?).

Customer Reviews

One of my favourite books
This is a coming-of-age novel, a story of war, love and loss, beautifully told, inspired by the author's visit to a country house and letters written by a cousin in 1939.

It is set in a country estate, Ashton Park in Yorkshire, the estate and its owners having been brought low by the First World War. Now, at the start of the Second World War in 1939, 8-year-old Anna Sands is evacuated here from London with 85 other children. Anna, intelligent and perceptive, is quickly drawn into the family by the Ashtons who have turned their estate into a school. Thomas and Elizabeth Ashton shape Anna's life.

The story is gripping from the start, with subtle observation and superb detailing, the writing highly visual. The author paints wonderful pictures of London and vividly communicates the feel of Ashton Park.

I count this among my favourite books and highly recommend it.

Could not put it down.
I found this book to be totally enthralling and thought provoking. A book that stays with you for some time after reading it.
It takes place during the Second World War and is essentially based around an evacuee who along with others is sent to a large house in the country. It follows her story as well as her Parents and the couple who take her in.
I thought that all the characters were well developed and believable, they were not simply good or bad but people who found themselves in situations that they were unable control or cope with.
The description of the little girl and her Mother shopping together before her departure was particularly heart rending but in a most unsentimental way.
This book also tackles the effects of polio, a disease that we have all but forgotten about but which had devastating effects on both its victims and their families.
All in all an absorbing read and one which I found difficult to put down.

Soul touching
Its been a very long time since I've read a book that I have been truly enthralled and touched by. It was beautifullly written and touched certain emotions within me that left me moved for several days. This is by far one of my favourite books and a little secret of mine now.Very devastating to have finished it.