A wartime family saga, perfect for fans of Rosie Goodwin and Val Wood

Shaftesbury, 1936.

Mansfield House Hotel has been a refuge for Emily ever since she was orphaned at the age of 16. Not only did they give her employment as a chambermaid, but it’s also where she met her fiance Tom.

When theatre agent Roland stays at the hotel and hears Emily singing, he is determined to take her away to Bristol and make her a star. But knowing she’d never leave her fiance, he hatches a plan to get Emily away from Tom.

Six years later, Emily has made a name for herself as ‘The Bristol Songbird’. Her love for Tom is still as strong as ever, but she’s not heard from him since that fateful night so long ago. And with the world enveloped in a war, it seems unlikely the two will ever meet again.

Will Emily and Tom ever find their way back to one another? Or will the war – and Roland – succeed in keeping them apart?

Praise for Karen Dickson:

‘A compelling saga that will hold you fast from the first page to the last. Loved it’ VAL WOOD, author of The Lonely Wife

‘This rollercoaster of a novel draws you in from the first page… I devoured this in one sitting and look forward to more from this author. In short a gem of a read’ FIONA FORD, author of Wartime at Liberty’s

‘A delight to read… Lily Hayter is a wonderful heroine whose resilience and integrity shine through as she struggles to claim a life of her choosing and find a family. At the heart of the story is a warmth and humanity that makes it a truly uplifting read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was sorry when I reached the end because I wanted to linger in Dickson’s world. I eagerly await more from Karen Dickson’ VICKI BEEBY, author of The Ops Room Girls

‘An exciting, fresh and talented new voice – a five-star read!’ CAROL RIVERS, author of Molly’s Christmas Orphans

‘The characters in this novel are so believable that I cared deeply about them from the first chapter. A heartfelt, hopeful account of one young woman’s fight to keep her child safe when all the odds are against her. Atmospheric and beautifully written’ JAN CASEY, author of The Women of Waterloo Bridge

The strawberry harvest is finally ready. The delicious fruit make up the main source of income for the small hamlet of Strawbridge. Good friends Leah, Alice and Dora are ready to spend their summer months working in Isaac Whitworth’s farm.

But when Leah takes a fancy to young farm hand Harry and Alice catches the eye of the curate’s son the two girls find themselves falling fast. This leaves Dora on the outside, struggling with the weight of being here family’s sole breadwinner and caring for her sickly father.

But the summer months are long and the surprises are far from over. Away from the fields, a war is brewing which risks everything the girls can dare to dream about.