Book review# 1
A ration book wedding
Author: Jean Fullerton
About the author
Jean Fullerton is the author of fifteen historical novels and two novellas. She is a qualified District and Queen’s nurse who has spent most of her working life in the East End of London first as a Sister in charge of a team, and then as a District Nurse tutor. She is also a qualified teacher and spent twelve years lecturing on community nursing studies at a London University. She now writes full time.
Theme
Love survives all odds despite in the darkest days of the Blitz. Love is more important than ever.
Plot
The story is set amidst when America finally join Britain and her allies around 1942. The background is about the lives living under the constant threat of being bombarded at any time, yet the humans know how to survive the oddest of odd circumstances.
Storyline: The start reveals the unsaid love of the twenty-three-year old Francesca Fabrino for childhood love Charlie Brogan, who is fighting in North Africa with the Eighth Army.
Fran, loved ones called her in short, was completely heart broken when her love, Charlie, her best friend Mattie’s brother, had married Stella against his family’s consent. He was bowled over by her svelte figure. Making her in the family way, Charlie goes to North Africa as his commitment for the English Army was calling.
At home, Stella gives birth to a baby boy and names him Patrick. As she doesn’t get along with the Brogans family, she had shifted to another shelter along with her young toddler. She was a woman of greed who always found pleasure in material possessions. In order to satisfy her greed, she joins the famous night club in the town despite the protest from Brogan’s family. She would leave the house by six in the evening and return the next day morning, meanwhile Patrick would be baby sitting at Charlie’s mother’s shelter. Stella had threatened the Brogans if they informed Charlie about her night outs then she would not allow them to meet Patrick at all.
After the drudgery work at the aircraft engine component section under Wanstead station, Fran manages to get work at BBC. She was a translator, who translated English scripts to Italian that related to Italy. She worked for Radio Roma, where she meets the handsome Count Leo D’ Angelo. Leo was spell bound at Fran’s skills and most importantly her beauty. He was an aristocrat and knew how to woo women.
Meanwhile Charlie gets hurt and injures his shoulder badly. He’s been deported to London to take rest and recover completely. Before joining his family, he had to be under observation at the Defense hospital and until the Chief physician certifies him to go home. During his stay at the hospital, he gets to see his wife Stella’s photograph in one of the news daily. She’s the top-notch stripper and talk of the town. This leaves Charlie into pieces and wanted to confirm the information himself. Taking the permission from the physician, he leaves to meet his wife and child. He goes to the bar and finds his wife stripping in front of hungry men. This leaves him disastrous and immediately he leaves to his home, to the Brogans.
Charlie is happy to see his son Patrick and his family. Also, he confirms his decision of leaving Stella and taking the custody of his child, to which all agree as none of them liked how Stella was into this flesh business. He meets Fran, which makes him to realize his foolishness of being married to Stella and not Fran.
With each day, his love grows for Fran and his love for her triggers the unsaid love within her. With each approach of Leo to sweep off her feet, she realizes that she could never love Leo as honestly as Charlie. Fran makes her mind and tells Leo about the truth and as a gentleman he understands and goes from her life.
There Stella finds a big shot American who was in charge of the groceries supplies to the American soldiers. Their dirty mind weaves plan to sell the items illegally off the military galore to make million bucks. She was asked to sleep with the people who were coming as hurdles in the way to achieve their dream. Stella wasn’t at all apprehensive about the idea suggested by her new boyfriend.
The fiction becomes more intriguing when Patrick was left alone in the shelter by Stella and how their lane gets bombarded. Luckily he survives the black smoke and that makes Fran and Charlie to get closer.
Does Stella allow Charlie and Fran to be united? Or Charlie reconsiders his marriage with Stella is a question to reckon with.
It’s a good read with the heart wrenching description of the lives of the people who are always under the threat of being bombarded at any given time.
My takeaways:
Love stories have always been my weaknesses. And this one for sure as Fran meets all the extreme heart piercing moments to see her love being slipping away in front of her eyes. Yet, she didn’t lose her hope and faith in love. She was in all arms to be a step mom to Patrick .She stood all the tough times with grace and dignity.
