Ordinary Heroines

Pamela Martin

Description

This is not a story of war, it is a story of courage. Courage of the people who had to endure, not just the hardship of lack of food and deprivation of everyday comforts, but loss of loved ones. The tenacity of the women in England who held it all together for their loved ones is evident as they struggle to support the men going to fight for their very survival. Dolly was a young girl at the end of WW1, and she thought she would never experience another in her lifetime. She was wrong. England had not recovered from the devastation and losses of the so-called "war to end all wars" when Hitler unleashed his hatred on the world. Dolly is a young woman when she returns from India with her husband, Pierre; and her son, Richard. Dolly watches helplessly as those she loves become caught up in the mayhem. The joy of being reunited with her loved ones soon turns into the anguish of knowing that she cannot keep them safe.

Sujets

• History
• Histoire

Informations

• Publié par: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Date de parution: 30 avril 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781528967785
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Ordinary Heroines
Pamela Martin
Austin Macauley Publishers
2019-04-30
Ordinary Heroines About the Author Dedication About the Book Copyright Information Acknowledgement Foreword Introduction Chapter One Cotters Marsh Chapter Two The Princess Alexandra Ocean Liner Chapter Three Doctor Anthony Chapter Four Assam, India Chapter Five The Convent Chapter Six Dolly Comes Home Chapter Seven Everett Returns Chapter Eight England at War Chapter Nine Secrets Revealed Chapter Ten A Personal War Chapter Eleven Land of Hope and Glory Chapter Twelve Pacifist to Fighter Chapter Thirteen Good News – Bad News Chapter Fourteen Keep the Home Fires Burning Chapter Fifteen Changing Britain Chapter Sixteen A Very Small World Chapter Seventeen Life Goes On Chapter Eighteen The Past Revisited Chapter Nineteen The End, the Beginning Chapter Twenty Doing the Right Thing
About the Author
Pamela Martin, youngest child of six, was born in Lincolnshire just after the Second World War, a time when there was no inside plumbing or central heating, when there were few cars and children played safely in the streets; a time when entertainment was getting together with the community in which she lived, safety and love came from neighbours who shared their last pot of tea with neighbours.
Pamela has had three lifetimes of exciting experiences. She has been living and working for seventeen years in Montreal, Canada, and twelve years in Florida, before retiring back in Lincolnshire to write, paint and breed ragdoll cats. Her two sons were her motivation to explore the world and show them just how life must be embraced with both hands.
The different cultures and life experiences have been the rich colour palette from which to weave the wonderful patchwork of her characters’ personalities. Some of these personalities and stories are passed down from her family, thankfully in an era before conversation was a lost art.
Dedication
At this time in my life, there are too many worthy friends and family to mention. Tolerance of my restlessness has been borne by all who love me. Now that I am back with my family in England, it is fitting to mention my love for my friends around the world who have believed in me and put up with me having crazy ambitions ‘above my station’.
About the Book
This is not a story of war, it is a story of courage. Courage of the people who had to endure, not just the hardship of lack of food and deprivation of everyday comforts, but loss of loved ones. The tenacity of the women in England who held it all together for their loved ones is evident as they struggle to support the men going to fight for their very survival.
Dolly was a young girl at the end of WW1, and she thought she would never experience another in her lifetime. She was wrong. England had not recovered from the devastation and losses of the so-called “war to end all wars” when Hitler unleashed his hatred on the world.
Dolly is a young woman when she returns from India with her husband, Pierre; and her son, Richard. Dolly watches helplessly as those she loves become caught up in the mayhem. The joy of being reunited with her loved ones soon turns into the anguish of knowing that she cannot keep them safe.
Copyright Information
Copyright © Pamela Martin (2019)
The right of Pamela Martin to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781528934206 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781528934213 (Kindle e-book)
ISBN 9781528967785 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2019)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LQ
Acknowledgement
At this time in my life, there is not a lot left on my bucket list. Writing novels is, and always will be, a pleasure. I have enjoyed using the characters in this book as a vehicle to explore my creative fantasy. I thank all those people who have made it possible to write this novel and without their support, it would not have been written. My family showed how different personalities reside together into one complex being, giving rise to endless scenarios and roads to travel.
Foreword
A Tale of Lincolnshire’s Women, their courage and tenacity growing up in post-war England was a gift for any child’s fertile imagination, and specifically my own it seems. I could not rest until I had mixed fact and fiction into the two novels, I called Dolly Don’t Cry , followed by this novel, Ordinary Heroines .
Growing up it did not matter that I was dirt poor, or that hunger was a constant companion, what mattered most were the memories that stayed within my heart and mind. The women that surrounded me, their courage and tenacity was, and still is, the backbone of Britain. These memories were so rich and powerful that they have been retained throughout my life. From those memories came Cotters Marsh a fictional place but based upon Lincolnshire’s coastal region and the River Humber. The rainbow of characters that lived there are based in some way on the people I knew as a child. Stories that were told within my hearing, and family fables that were passed on, somehow jumped into life through the character of Dolly Marcum.
I revelled in the task of weaving all the wonderful characters I have known, or wished I had known, into stories I hope you will enjoy.
Although Ordinary Heroines is a standalone novel, readers may be interested in my first novel depicting life through WW1.
Summary of Dolly Don’t Cry , the first novel that focused on Dolly Marcum’s struggle
This second novel picks up Dolly’s life just before WW11. She has spent some time in India and now has a son, Richard.
Dolly’s beloved twin brother, Everett, will join her back in Cotters Marsh very soon with his own twins, Eleanor and Sanja. Everett’s Indian wife, Gita, witnessed the political killing of her parent and was herself murdered. It took a long time for Everett to get over the tragedy. His two children Eleanor and Sanja, are already in their teenage years. Dolly had made many loving friends from childhood and they are eagerly anticipating her return.
Their father eventually married Nan’s mother Violet after his own wife died. They are very happy and have a farm.
Nan who had a child, Grace, the product of a violent rape by Victoria’s uncle, who himself met a violent death. Nan married David, and her children are her very existence.
Victoria, a dear friend who, as a child was spoilt by her rich parents, was also raped by her uncle and had a child she named Anne. Victoria married Robin and has been quietly happy.
Joan, whose leanings towards the church saw her dedicate her life to Christ. Her friends said she has the voice of an angel.
Anthony whose love was expressed towards the same sex. His lover Matthew went to Montreal Children’s Hospital. Anthony still misses him.
George, forever a part of all their lives died from injuries from WW1 but is still a big part of their lives.
These close friends and others had a profound influence on Dolly as she grew into adulthood.
The whole village of Cotters Marsh, still reeling from the heartache and devastation of the First World War, is about to be faced with their greatest challenge yet, Hitler’s war on the world.
Dolly must cope with hardship, grief and her own vulnerability in an uncertain future, and it is only through the love of her family and friends that she struggles through it all. She experiences events that threaten to break through her courage and strength, but she becomes an inspiration to others.
Introduction
Events were brewing in Europe that would have a devastating impact on the residents of Cotters Marsh and the world. An insidious cancer was growing without detection and eventually without antidote; the new Germany was being formed under the leadership of Adolf Hitler.
Hitler began to govern with fear and transparent shams of legality. The unsuspecting German people were, at first, grateful for the increasing employment and promised prosperity. Under the auspices of a pure Germany the Nazi party began the horrendous purges upon what they called the, ‘Jewish Bolshevists’. He postulated that the ‘Jews and other degenerates’ hold on the German culture. Was destroying the Arian hold on all areas of their society, from arts and literature, to commerce.
At first none of the horror of pending war impacted on the peaceful country life of Cotters Marsh, but that was soon to change.
Chapter One

Cotters Marsh
Naught much was wrong on this summer’s day in July 1938. Victoria watched a squawking gull glide confidently on the breeze, the white tips of his wings catching the sun like sparkles against the deep blue sky. Vicky envied him his freedom. She shuddered involuntarily as she remembered her own ‘freedom’ taken violently from her when she was just a snippet of a girl. It was of little comfort to know that she was not alone; another young girl had suffered the same fate at the hands of the same perpetrator. This girl was her fiend Nan, an innocent whose life was forever changed one night in the woods by the act of Vicky’s Uncle John. Her uncle John was responsible for so much misery, he snuffed out the innocence of two young girls without an ounce of conscience. He took what he wanted regardless of the cries of his victims. His lust eventually cost him his life. John had met a violent death many years ago, but Vicky often had nightmares of the dark days’ past.
She was sitting against the great ol