Meadowlands. Elizabeth
Jeffrey. Severn House Publishers. April 2015. 224 pp. ISBN#: 9780727884695.
Here’s
another story about the ups and downs of WWI centered in the Barsham
family. They are aristocrats who cannot
remain immune from the hardships and horrors to come, although Lady Adelaide
does nothing but complain about how inconvenienced she is by losing staff and
not having someone to fawn on her every wish.
Sir George Barsham is a Minister of Parliament who uses any excuse to be
away from home. The Barsham children all
agree to “do their part” with James off to fight in the military, Millie to drive
an ambulance to transport the wounded and dying, and Gina who starts a soup
kitchen for the wives and children of soldiers who are off in Flanders fighting
for King and country.
So
what makes this novel different from the hundreds of other stories that have
memorialized the causes and effects of this devastating war? The first lies in the fact that England did
everything possible to woo every male into fighting in Flanders but failed to
take care of their spouses and children.
No salary or even part of a salary was sent to spouses and the families
of wounded men received no recompense for their part in serving in the
war. The result was devastating poverty
and Gina becomes not only soup kitchen director but also advocate for the needs
of these present or former military families.
The
second concerns the quiet but awful custom of committing pregnant young ladies
into houses of insanity, followed by having to give up their babies and forever
live in the deplorable conditions of their home. Cruelty and ill treatment are described with
disarming clarity.
The
upshot is that this so-called “war to end all wars” had devastating physical,
mental and emotional results that bear telling and remembering. Elizabeth Jeffrey does so with sensitivity,
accuracy and passion! There is so much more than what is described above which
makes delightful reading! Well done historical fiction, indeed!
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