An enthralling story of one woman’s determined grab for freedom after WW2 from a talented new Australian voice. ‘PART CABARET, PART BURLESQUE, AND LIKE NOTHING YOU’VE EVER SEEN BEFORE! GENTLEMEN, AND LADIES IF YOU’VE DARED TO COME, WELCOME TO …
THE VICTORY!’
1945: After the thrill and danger of volunteering in an all-female searchlight regiment protecting Londoners from German bombers … regiment protecting Londoners from German bombers overhead, Evelyn Bell is secretly dismayed to be sent back to her rigid domestic life when the war is over. But then she comes across a secret night-time show, hidden from the law on a boat in the middle of the Thames. Entranced by the risqué and lively performance, she grabs the opportunity to join the misfit crew and escape her dreary future.
At first the Victory travels from port to port to raucous applause, but as the shows get bigger and bigger, so too do the risks the performers are driven to take, as well as the growing emotional complications among the crew. Until one desperate night …
1963: Lucy, an unloved and unwanted little girl, is rescued by a mysterious stranger who says he knows her mother. On the Isle of Wight, Lucy is welcomed into an eclectic family of ex-performers. She is showered with kindness and love, but gradually it becomes clear that there are secrets they refuse to share. Who is Evelyn Bell?
PRAISE FOR KERRI TURNER
‘The Daughter of Victory Lights is a rich and vibrant story, comprising of a double narrative. Kerri Turner’s latest charts the lives of an enterprising mother and her daughter, ten years later. A story of passion, love, friendship, family, loyalty aspiration, ambition, heroism, tragedy and recovery, The Daughter of Victory Lights is a bedazzling historical fiction title.’ – Mrs B Book Reviews
‘Beautifully plotted storylines and engaging characters resulting in a spectacular novel. The Daughter of Victory Lights took my breath away.’ – Better Reading
‘An impressive debut … one of the strengths of the novel is the tapestry it creates of everyday life in an era of great turbulence.’– Queensland Times on The Last Days of the Romanov Dancers
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This was a compelling and poignant read that had me turning the pages, it starts off with part one during World War 2 England and then part two England 1963, such a moving story about people and what they do during and after the war, how their lives change and looks into their feelings, I thoroughly enjoyed this one, it is emotional so some tissues will be needed.
Evelyn Bell is living with her married sister during the war and volunteers to do her bit against her sisters wishes she ends up working for the volunteer woman’s searchlight regiment and loves what she does, but as the war ends and Evelyn is back home with her sister she feels like she needs to be doing something. When at a festival she discovers a group of entertainers, who live and perform from a ship The Victory there are many acts onboard and Evelyn finds herself a job and feels needed again.
The years pass and Evie as she is known now travels around Europe with the show and becomes part of the family, most of them have secrets and emotions that have come through life and the war. Evie and another worker Flynn get very close but Flynn suffers from his part in the war and their time together is not easy. Tragedy changes everything and people move on as best they can.
In 1963 a young girl Lucy is rescued by a total stranger who knows her parents and taken to the Isle of Wight, here she finds love and friendship from past performers on The Victory and finally answers to questions never before answered about her mother Evelyn Bell.
This story is beautifully written, taking in the emotions of people, the struggles they have and finally finding that happiness, yes I cried and I cheered the characters on in this story I felt for them so much, in the years they performed and worked lights to make people happy they suffered in so many different ways. This is a moving and emotional story that MS Turner has bought to life on the pages, the descriptions made me feel like I was watching the shows, a fabulous story that I highly recommend.
1945
After the excitement of working in the dangerous Searchlight Regiment during the war, headstrong Evelyn Bell is loathe to go back to the kitchen, like women are expected to.
Instead she joins a troupe of performers and burlesque artists on the floating stage that is The Victory. Among this motley bunch of outsiders, Evelyn feels at home, until the night disaster strikes.
1963
Unloved and unwanted, Lucy knows little about her parents or her origins, and is forbidden to ask any questions about them. Then one day her world is changed forever by the appearance of a kindly pair, who having known her parents, take her in.
A whole new world is suddenly opened up to her, but what is the mystery that lies at the heart of her new-found family?
I loved this book and cried at all the sad bits. The second novel from Kerri Turner, The Daughter of Victory Lights has all the right ingredients for the kind of historical fiction novel that will delight many readers.
*3.5 – 4 Stars*
ARC kindly received from Harlequin Australia in exchange for an honest review.
This was an interesting historical fiction, set in the time of WWII, and back when women were still only just learning to stand up for what they wanted to say and do with their lives, rather than what society told them they should.
The heroine Evie, is a complex character in away, but I suppose she is also quite simple. She’s just trying to find her place in the world after the war. A war which helped her discover a love for working with lights and the intricacies of their inner mechanisms. She goes through quite a bit, and when she meets those from the Victory, everything seems to be falling into place. We have a few more surprises thrown our way, and then part 2 of the book comes along.
Part 2 is about a little 10YO girl named Lucy. What exactly does she have to do with those from the Victory and where is her place in the world? The story really changes tune here and we get some answers to things from part 1 of the book. I was quite frustrated with particular characters, especially in this second half of the book, but in the end it seems to work out nicely.
The thing holding me back from a higher rating is that the book, whilst giving us knowledge and letting us get to know the characters, did at times seem a little slow in the pace. I also didn’t like the way that one huge event was thrown at us, even though by the end of the novel we have the answer to what actually happened.
All in all, it was a still a good read, just a couple of things that let it down a little for me.
This is a beautifully written novel that is raw, emotional and engrossing , I loved it