Two women, a world apart.
A secret waiting to be discovered… back at home on the other side of the Atlantic recovering from his injuries.
Travelling to a distant country to live with a man she barely knows is the bravest thing Ellie has ever had to do. But nothing can prepare her for the harsh realities of her new home…
September 11th 2001: Sophie Parry is on a plane to New York on the most tragic day in the city’s history. While the world watches the news in horror, Sophie’s flight is rerouted to a tiny town in Newfoundland and she is forced to seek refuge with her estranged aunt Ellie.
Determined to discover what it was that forced her family apart all those years ago, newfound secrets may change her life forever…
This is a timeless story of love, sacrifice and resilience perfect for fans of Lucinda Riley, Lorna Cook and Gill Paul.
What readers are saying about The English Wife:
‘An emotive and engaging read’ Rosanna Ley
‘Rich, evocative and utterly immersive, this beautifully written book swept me away’ Jenny Ashcroft
“An epic tale of family, tragedy & love… I highly recommend this book!!” Books, Wine, Cats 5*
“The sense of suspense makes this story a page turner! Highly recommend this book, especially if you’re looking for a WWII era book without all of the historical stuff” To Read is to Breathe, 5*
“I couldn’t put it down. It was not your typical historical novel & I think that’s what I loved about it. Great book!” Dabbookclub, 4*
“A book that drew me in from the first pages! The characters come alive, they’re so well written. Fans of historic fiction will love this story. An author to follow” Consumer review, 4*
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If you like stories about the impact of World War II on the lives and after effects of those years, especially from a woman’s point of view, you will enjoy it. Lots of flashbacks and changes of characters but I thought that added to the appeal.
I love dual timeline historicals, and I especially loved that a good part of the story was set in Newfoundland! 🙂
This is a beautifully written historical fiction novel that seamlessly incorporates two, or even three timelines. There is the one set during the war in the UK and there are the one, or two, set in Newfoundland in 2001 and in 2011. I learnt a lot from this lovely, observant book. The English Wife is written with great compassion, realistic interesting characters and explores friendship, forgiveness and the ability to change. Chinn really does have a fantastic command of language, this really was poetic at times. Highly recommended.
The English Wife by Adrienne Chinn is a delightful dual timeline novel with action set in 1940 and 2001, both moving forwards. It is a wonderful warm read that I adored.
The novel is set in Norwich during the war, and in 2001 in Newfoundland after a plane is diverted due to 9/11.
Families are a complicated affair. Relationships blossom and later die as hearts are consumed with hate and unforgiveness. As bitterness sets in, lives are tainted.
We have to make sure that we have the correct priorities. “Be careful you don’t miss the important things while you’re being so busy.” No one ever gets to the end of their life wishing they had spent more time in the office. The power and greed of corporations contrast with lives of love. One character is forever chasing fame and fortune. Neither will ever bring happiness. True wealth and treasure is to be found in people.
I absolutely loved The English Wife. Adrienne Chinn has perfectly captured the atmosphere of uncertainty during times of war and the rugged freedom that is found in Newfoundland. Adrienne Chinn is a new author to me but I want to read more novels by her.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.
A well written historical fiction, by a new author for me. It is the stories of two women, one in 1940 and the other after 9/11. The journey of a young
English girl during WWII and her marriage to a Newfoundlander, from war torn England to the post war era of the strange, wild coast of the island.
This is a tale of families, their struggles, their secrets and the burden of failed dreams and disappointments. It focuses on the strength of Ellie, determined to make a life for her children, when faced with a strange country, a mother in law that hates her and the love of a man burdened with a war injury that leads him to drink and despair. Leaving a loving father behind, a sister who feels betrayed by her leaving, for a man they didn’t really know, Ellie manages to make the most of her dreary life.
I enjoyed the book, although I often found the alternating time frames confusing and disruptive to the flow of events. Adrienne Chinn is a talented writer, with wonderful descriptions of the landscape and characters.
I thank #OneMoreChapter and #NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
I am not a reader that pays much attention to the title of chapters, so when I began to read this book, I had to concentrate and not adhere to my usual reading pattern. This book is written with dual timelines and the title of the chapter tells you the place and date, so I found out early that I needed to pay close attention. After I began to do that, I was lost in the story. While this style is not my favorite, I feel it is needed to accurately tell some stories. The English Wife definitely needed to be told with dual timelines.
I was very invested in finding out what happened in the past to cause the present situation in the character’s lives. The author did a fantastic job of creating a mood of suspense slowly building layer on top of layer until the end of the story revealed what caused the heartbreak. I was surprised.
The author did a wonderful job describing the story settings, created realistic characters and developed a fantastic plot. I enjoyed this story and would recommend it to other readers.
I want to thank HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for giving me the pleasure in reading the Advance Reading Copy of this book. My review is my own opinion not influenced by receiving the ARC.
The English Wife by Adrienne Chinn is a great historical fiction that is also a dual-timeline that moves between 1940 and 2001. Dual timelines can either be genius or a rough-go, but Ms. Chinn pulls this theme off expertly.
I enjoyed the transitions, both timelines were interesting to me, and I felt invested with the characters as the book advanced. I also enjoyed the location of Newfoundland. It is refreshing to be placed into a different landscape. It definitely helped set this book up to be unique and memorable from its counterparts.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.
5/5 stars
Thank you NetGalley and OMC for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
Two women with different perspectives from different eras! These women face different situations, but they still have to endure the right to be heard as women.
Ellie is a confident woman who leaves her family for a new life in a new country for love. Her sister Dottie sees this as a betrayal of sisterhood and she raises her daughter Sophie to be strong and not need anyone or anybody.
The book itself is a very slow read, but it does pickup in various areas throughout the storyline. I definitely enjoyed the characters, but it seemed as though they were missing something and the book kept losing my interest. I put it down and would go to another more cohesive book. Overall, I loved the premise of this book it just seemed to need more.
I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.
The English Wife by Adrienne Chinn is a wonderful story having two timelines, one of which takes place in Newfoundland. Since I have an ongoing love affair with Newfoundland, that attracted me right away and never let me down. The early timeline is World War II Ellie is in art school and dating George, assuming they will marry after the war. That is until she falls for a handsome soldier, Thomas, from Newfoundland that she meets at a local dance. It is not too long before they are in love and plan to be married. Their plans fall apart when Ellie’s younger sister, Dottie, interferes with their communication and they miss their chance to be married. Thomas eventually writes and by then Ellie has discovered her sister’s interference. Since it is wartime, their correspondence is sporadic until Thomas arrives in England and discovers George and Ellie together. Since he is confident in her love, he spirits away and they marry. After the war, Ellie and her son, Emmett, sail to Newfoundland to be with Thomas.
This is another side of the war. Usually it is all about the Holocaust. This is about regular people, living their lives. There are subplots aplenty and it isn’t until 9-11 when Dottie’s and George’s daughter, Sophia, is on a plane forced to land in Gander, that the tow families come together again. By then Sophia’s parents have both died, as has Ellie’s daughter. This is a fabulous story about the things people do in desperate situations, and not so desperate situations. It is about the lies they tell and the justifications they use. It was a heart-rending story of love and loss and off how horrible people can be. All families have secrets. This one certainly did, plenty of them, and they hurt one another with those secrets. It was a terrific book, full of vignettes about lives lived as best they could be. I loved it.
I was invited to read a free ARC of The English Wife by Netgalley. All opinions contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #theenglishwife
Sophie’s flight to NYC has been diverted to Newfoundland. She is not very happy about it…at all. She must get to NYC for an interview. However, this diversion takes her on a quest to learn more about her family history and to possibly discover love in the process.
I enjoyed the setting on this one. You do not read too many books set in Newfoundland. I also loved the 9/11 segment. But, the WWII part was a little boring and drawn out. The story comes together with quite a few twists and turns. But, there were sections which I struggled with. Now…this could be more about me than the author. I have read so many WWII books lately. I could just be ready for something new.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.
I felt let down at the end of the book. There were three characters that had major issues with trust, anger and unforgiveness. There were some redeeming characters but I’m sorry I spent my time reading it.
Not what I thought it would be. I couldn’t finish it. but may try later when I am in a different mind set.
Good story but just a bit unbelievable.
I am not impressed by this book. I found the most of the main characters unrealistic, their actions also more fictional than believable,
How many secrets can one family have?