A hugely enjoyable book, a factual account of an aircraft carrier, HMS Victorious, over six weeks transporting 650 wartime brides and 11,000 servicemen from Australia to England.  It is difficult to imagine the sheer size of a ship able to carry so many people together with 19 aircraft.  The interwoven story amongst the facts of such a journey is brilliantly conceived.  Revolving around four of the brides from varying backgrounds and spotted with personal diaries and newspaper snippets, it’s a glorious read on a grand scale.  Even better, in my opinion, is her first book, Sheltering Rain.

Comparison: Rosamunde Pilcher, Michelle Paver, Judith Lennox.
Similar this month: None but try Charlotte Bingham and George MacDonald Fraser.

Synopsis

The year is 1946, and all over the world young women are crossing the seas in their thousands en route to the men they married in wartime, and an unknown future.

In Sydney, Australia, four women join 650 other brides on an extraordinary voyage to England – aboard HMS Victoria, which still carries not just arms and aircraft but a thousand naval officers and men.

Rules of honour, duty, and separation are strictly enforced, from the aircraft carrier`s Captain down to the lowliest young stoker. But the men and the brides will find their lives intertwined in ways the Navy could never have imagined.

And Frances Mackenzie – the enigmatic young bride whose past comes back to haunt her thousands of miles from home – will find that sometimes the journey is more important than the destination.

Reviews

About the Author

Jojo Moyes was born in 1969 and was brought up in London. A journalist and writer, she worked for the Independent newspaper until 2001. She lives in East Anglia with her husband and two children. More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation