Not really, the book is called “Fallen Skies”
I have just finished another book for my Historical Fiction Reading Challenge. It will probably be my last as I am now reading another Lee Child.
Fallen Skies by Philippa Gregory was a book I picked up for $2 at a charity shop.
The book was published in 1994 so the cover is completely different to that which you might see in a bookshop today. Her is the cover you are likely to find today.
Most of Gregory’s books which have been republished or published since The Other Boleyn Girl have a line saying something about The Other Boleyn Girl, which was made into a movie in 2008.
I have read a few Philippa Gregory books but not one about the aftermath of the First World War. This one certainly portrayed the horrendous suffering of those who had participated in the war. The mental and emotional trauma is at the forefront of this novel.
It seems wrong to say that I enjoyed this novel as there are so many aspects of the story that are heartbreaking but enjoy it I did. It was another novel that I found I wanted to keep reading and there are twists in the plot that were unexpected.
A great read.
From the cover:
Lily Valance wants to forget the war. She’s determined to enjoy the world of the 1920s with its music, singing, laughter and pleasure. When she meets Captain Stephen Winters, a decorated hero back from the Front, she’s drawn to his wealth and status. In Lily he sees his salvation – from the past, from the nightmares, from the guilt at surviving the Flanders plains where so many were lost.
But it’s a dream that cannot last. Lily has no intention of leaving her singing career. The hidden tensions behind the respectable facade of the Winters’ household come to a head. Stephen’s nightmares merge ever closer with reality and the truth of what took place in the mud and darkness brings him and all who love him to a terrible reckoning.
Gippsland Granny 