Publisher: Bookouture
Format: Print, e-book and audio
Series:The Wartime Lodging House #3
Genre: Historical Fiction, World War 2 Book Description London, 1940. In a Mayfair townhouse behind a wide front door, three women must bond together to make it through the war – no matter their differences. A world away from the wealth and comfort of her family home, lord’s daughter Betony Styles has come to love her new life at a London lodging house with Grace and Jess. Selling her beautiful gowns to pay for her rent and rations for the other girls, Betony is determined to do her bit. By day she works in the factory sewing much-needed uniforms for the Women’s Air Force. At night, air raid sirens blaze – but Betony and the other girls do all they can to help in the hardest hit neighbourhoods, rescuing a precious newborn from the rubble. And she’s head over heels with her beau, brave Canadian pilot Winter Macpherson. But her father believes duty to her family should come before her duty for her country. He demands she give up playing games and come home once and for all. To stand up to her father and follow her own path, Betony needs Grace and Jess more than ever. But when Winter disappears, her heart shatters. Together, can the lodging house girls give each other hope even in the darkest times? My Thoughts Set during the London Blitz, The Wartime Lodging House trilogy follows the lives of three young women from vastly different backgrounds: Jess, a vicar's daughter; Grace, an Irish nurse, and aristocratic Lady Betony Styles. In this, the third and final book, the focus is on Betony, who is trying to prove to her family, especially her father Lord Styles, that she is able to contribute to society without his wealth and influence. Of the three, Betony finds it hardest to adapt to the new living conditions under the Blitz. She faces prejudice and scepticism because of her background and lacks the simple domestic skills the other young women have. Bethony, however, is determined to learn and soon finds her place within the group. Bethony is devastated when the magazine where she is employed as a model has to close down. Her father presumes she will now take her dutiful place beside her mother, helping with war work considered suitable for an aristocratic daughter. The prospect of returning home a failure is not one Betony is willing to contemplate. Desperation forces her to part with her most prized possession, her wardrobe of designer clothes, and to accept a poorly paid and very unglamorous position in a fashion house given over to war work. Woven into Betony's story is the continuing stories of the other lodging house occupants. Romantic and family relationships are tested; some with happy, others with heartbreaking outcomes, but all tempered by the bonds of friendship established through shared adversity. While I enjoyed Jess and Grace's character arcs, it was Betony's that I found the most satisfying. Not only did she prove to her father that she was a strong and capable person and deserving of respect, most importantly she learnt to love herself and shattered her own misconception that she was unworthy. I also appreciated the historical details across all three books, but the most surprising one was Betony's role as a rag sorter, an essential task salvaging textiles to be reconstituted and used for the war effort, whether for uniforms, blankets or wadding for armaments etc., to name just three. I assume some degree of skill was needed to recognise the different fabrics, which Betony would have acquired the longer she remained in the job. The Lady at the Lodging House is more emotionally packed than the previous two books and there is an unexpected but satisfying outcome for one of the characters who faces an uncertain future. The Lady at the Lodging House is a wonderful conclusion to the trilogy and the trilogy is another great addition to World war II fiction set on the home front. Meet the Author
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