_____________________The first novel in the wonderful new Railway Girls series, perfect for fans of Nancy Revell and Ellie Dean.
In February, 1922, at the western-most entrance to Victoria Station in Manchester, a massive plaque was unveiled. Beneath a vast tiled map showing the lines of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway network, a series of seven bronze panels recorded the names of the men … panels recorded the names of the men of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway who gave their lives for King and Country in the Great War – a total of 1,460 names.
In March, 1940, a group of women of varying ages and backgrounds, stand in front of the memorial, ready to do their bit in this new World War…
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Mabel is determined to make a fresh start as a railway girl where no one will know the terrible thing she did and she can put her guilt behind her… Or is she just running away?
Meanwhile Joan will never be as good as her sister, or so her Gran keeps telling her. A new job as a station clerk could be just the thing she needs to forget her troubles at home.
And Dot is further into her forties than she cares to admit. Her beloved sons are away fighting and her husband – well, the less said about him the better. Ratty old sod. She is anxious to become a railway girl just like her dear mam – anything to feel she is supporting the sons she prays for every night.
The three women start off as strangers, but soon form an unbreakable bond that will get them through the toughest of times…
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The Railway Girls by Maisie Thomas has Mabel, Joan, Dot, and other ladies volunteering to work for the railway during World War II. Mabel is eager to escape her hometown so she can get a fresh start away from the memories and the guilt. Joan and her sister were raised by their grandmother. Gran praises her sister, but Joan does not live up to her grandmother’s expectations. Joan wants to obtain a position and show what she is capable of to herself and her family. Dot has raised two boys who are now married with children of their own. Dot’s sons are off fighting. She takes care of the home and her critical husband, Reg. Dot is the mothering type and likes to be helpful. Each of these women who are different ages and from different social classes, come together to do their bit for the war. This group of diverse women start off as strangers, but they soon become close friends who stand by each other through thick and thin. The Railway Girls is the first book in the Railways Girls series. There is a great cast of characters in this historical novel. I thought the characters were realistic and relatable. They come from different social classes and each have a different reason for volunteering. Dot was my favorite. She is such a kind woman who loves her sons and their families. I could understand why she wanted to get out of her home each day. I did feel that Dot was taken advantage of by her daughter’s in-law. We get to follow the women through their day to day lives. Each of them want to help the war effort and are excited to be working for the railway. The women are assigned different jobs. I like that we get to see the various positions people work to keep the trains running. I could tell that the author did her research for this book. The author took us back in time with the clothing, buildings, the various battles and war engagements, and the men’s attitudes towards women in the workplace. Maisie Thomas’ detailed descriptions brought the scenes and characters to life. I did wish that the pacing had been a little peppier. The story got bogged down with the minutia of the ladies lives (a little too much detail). I enjoyed seeing the ladies come together as a group and grow as individuals. It was not easy living during World War II in England with bombings, rationing, and the extra work they had to take on. The Railway Girls is an emotional story with strong women who want to support their country during trying times.
Maisie Thomas’s The Railway Girls is full of fabulous characters, but one of the most engaging and interesting is Dot, who is well into her forties. She is the sort of woman who organises and takes care of everyone to her own detriment, but determined to strike out and help the war effort, through which she is to find a great deal of self respect.
That is the premise of this excellent book; women from different backgrounds who were thrown together in 1940 to help keep the nation’s vital railways running. The challenges they face, the friendships they form and even their romances weave together into an utterly believable tapestry, depicting wartime Manchester as it surely was.
Thomas’s research must have been meticulous but it is the richness of her storytelling that had me hooked. The detailed descriptions fitted so easily into the narrative the pictures were painted as the story moved along, and that is a rare talent. There is quite an extensive cast of characters too; not only Dot, Joan and Mabel, who will be the focus of the series, but other railway workers as well as their families at home.
For a debut novel this is stunning writing, perfectly paced and never rushed, a slow and realistic journey through the phoney war, Dunkirk and into the beginnings of the blitz.