First published 1981
Margaret watches her carefully hoarded sugar disappear into yet another ersatz cake as air raid sirens wail across London. The year is 1943, and life on Britain's home front demands constant adaptation. She queues for hours to buy meat with precious ration coupons, tends her victory garden between blackout duties, and sleeps in Underground stations when the Luftwaffe returns. Her husband fights in North Africa while she battles different enemies: shortages, bureaucracy, and the daily fear that this war may never end. Neighbors who once barely spoke now share shelters and swap recipes for making meals from turnips and powdered eggs. Margaret discovers strength she never knew she possessed, but wonders if the woman who emerges from this war will recognize the person who entered it. The home front proves as demanding as any battlefield, testing not just survival instincts but the bonds that hold communities together when everything familiar crumbles away.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, war, world-war-ii
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, resilience
Setting: London, North Africa
Period: 1943
242 pages · Hardcover · Chatto & Windus