I have been idle for two days and it is Rosemary Noble’s fault. I travelled from innocence to experience with her character, Sadie. She had my ear as soon as I walked into this thrilling family saga. This hard-hitting, realistic document of challenging times deals with: propaganda, inequality, domestic violence and loss. Insight into Australia and England placed me in the centre of the historical periods.
Strategic juxtaposition of Sadie’s life during World War One Australia and World War Two Grimsby is brilliant. Noble explores how our experiences make us react in the future thus providing depth to Sadie’s character. Wounded by past troubles, Sadie makes decisions that made me want to sit her down and give her advice. Tempting questions hang artfully in each chapter of this novel. The trajectory of the plot is driven by the intense drama: the action never stops.
I moved from the air raids and community spirit in Grimsby to Sadie’s privileged life in Australia. Neither the ‘uninterrupted sky changing from purple to cobalt’, nor the ‘endless grey skies’ of Grimsby can shelter Sadie from the harsh reality of life. In her innocent years, she is brainwashed by war propaganda then learns about the impact on people as she moves through her life. Sadie is raised to ‘obey your father until you marry then obey your husband.’ Like her contemporaries, the social straightjacket causes Sadie pain. Noble shows the inequalities between men and woman at the turn of the century and contrasts it with changing attitudes in post Second World War Britain. Historical events, attitudes and politics are artfully woven into the narrative fabric of the novel.
Details of a wealthy life in Australia at the turn of last century intrigued me. I lingered on the verandas and looked at the ‘rich grassland and vineyards as far as the eye could see, framed on by majestic mountains.’ I admired Sadie’s wardrobe of beautiful clothes but realised her wealth and over-protection of her father made her more vulnerable. At every turn, I felt empathy for the young Sadie who is isolated by her ignorance. ‘Her marriage seemed like a distant dream and her husband merely an actor in it’, and I wanted to chat with Sadie. Noble explored love so beautifully in the novel. There is an enchanting, exciting love story, as Sadie learns what real love means.
The wiser, experienced Sadie charmed me. I sat with her as she waited to discover if her sons would return safely from the RAF. Noble takes the reader into the heart of air raids in Grimsby. The air raid provides a backdrop to the inner turmoil Sadie suffers, and all these emotions are vividly connected to experiences of the past. Events in post-World War One Australia were shocking. An intelligent, powerful and deeply moving novel from Rosemary Noble.
About the Book
An astonishing tale, spanning continents, where truth is stranger than fiction. This historical saga of an extraordinary Australian pioneer family continues into a new generation.
Sadie is brought amongst the vineyards of the Yarra Valley whilst her work-obsessed father reaps riches from the boom years before the Great War.
With post-war depression looming, Sadie’s only option is to flee from her disastrous marriage, seeking refuge in Cleethorpes, a small seaside town in northern England.
Years later, when her sons are in RAF Bomber Command, she receives a letter from her long-lost brother which forces her to confront the past and her part in her family’s downfall.
Can old wounds be healed?
Will she find new love?
Will this second war destroy everyone she saved?
About Rosemary
Rosemary worked as a college and university librarian and has a life-long love of social history and reading. Researching family history led to an interest in Australia where Search for the Light ends and provides the setting for the sequel, The Digger’s Daughter. A third book in the Australian series, Sadie’s Wars, is now available.
Rosemary is a member of Arun Scribes Creative Writing Group and a member of CHINDI (Network of Independent Authors). Her third book, Ranter’s Wharf is set in England during the first half of the nineteenth century. In odd moments, she writes flash fiction for Paragraph Planet and Drabble.
For more information read my interview with Rosemary here or visit Rosemary’s blog at https://rosemarynoble.wordpress.com/
Please see all my book reviews and book excerpts at Books In Handbag and my website and blog at JessieCahalin.com.
Fascinating review. 2 wars, 2 countries- quite a saga for Sadie, and just the kind of book I like to get lost in.