I haven't posted a book review for quite some time. I read a book that I thoroughly enjoyed recently so will share my thoughts on it with you. Jenny Ashcroft is the author of Under The Golden Sun, a historical novel set in 1941 in both England and Australia. Ms. Ashcroft has a degree in history from Oxford University in the UK, and she has traveled and lived in both Australia and Asia, places where she sets her historical fiction novels. I picked up this newest novel while browsing the New Books shelves at my library. I recognized her name as being the author of a book I had read earlier and enjoyed. That book, Meet Me in Bombay, is set in India.
Under The Golden Sun tells the story of Rose Hamilton. London is under siege by Germany in 1941. Rose had been a member of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force but was unfairly discharged following a dreadful personal loss. She moves to Devon, works as a secretary, and keeps up with an on again, off again relationship with her American journalist fiance.
Rose is at loose ends, hoping to contribute to the war effort in some way, when she answers a newspaper advertisement asking for someone to act as a companion to an orphaned child to Australia.
Rose is immediately attracted to four-year-old Walter Lucknow, who is shy, creative, and also kind. He has been living in seclusion with a great aunt, who insists the boy must be returned to his mother's family in Austalia.
Against all pleas of her family and fiance, Rose leaves for Australia on a ship which must brave traveling through wartime waters of the Atlantic. Once in the Pacific, they are out of danger but still have a long way to go. Woman and child bond during that time.
Arriving in Brisbane, Rose and Walter, who has become very precious to her after four months together on the ship, are met by a taxi driver who says he is to take her to the Lucknow family. The trip is two hours in a driving rain, but when they arrive, there is no welcome. No one answers the door, even though Rose knows someone is inside. Forced to take cover for the night in a barn, Rose fears the worst for Walter.
The rest of the story involves the Lucknow family--matriarch Lauren, Esme, and Max, her children. Esme is a disgruntled, abandoned wife to an absent husband. Max is a wounded pilot who bears scars inside and outside his body. The little boy, Walter, is the son of Max and Esme's brother's wife who had an affair with an Aborigne worker on the huge Lucknow ranch. Walter is not related to any of them by blood, but Max and Esme feel an obligation to care for him as they loved his mother, who was their brother's widow.
Lauren is the one who holds out longest to Walter's charms, but even she comes to love the child. The Great-Aunt who Walter lived with in London is the older sister of Lauren, and it comes to be known that she has made Walter the heir to the thousands of acres the Lucknows live and work on.
Rose learns to love the land and loses her heart to Max, becomes close friends with Esme and even Lauren, eventually. Letters take months to get from England to Austalia, so Rose communicates with family and fiance via telegram wires. She tries to break her engagement to Xander, but he never receives her letter.
The story covers a year's time, during which Rose grows closer and closer to Walter, and pines for Max, afraid to tell him how she feels. This is a family saga that dips and sways as events occur, the war draws ever closer, and Rose feels she's finally found a home. Still, she is torn between returning to England and staying with Walter in Austalia.
There is much more to Rose's story, but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who reads the book.
The book kept me reading at times when I should have been doing something else. Beautifully written, it held my attention from start to finish.
Blurbs on the back cover were glowing. A few follow:
"A story of love in its various forms, with the powerful pull of promises made, trust broken, and well-kept secrets." Glynnis Peters, author
""An unforgettable book. I loved every page!" Kaaren White, author
"A seeping love story with a huge heart. Gorgeously written and utterly absorbing." Emma Rous, author
"An epic story of hope and heartbreak, exquisitely written." Iona Grey, author
Find the book on Amazon or in your favorite bookstore or library.
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