- During the Second World War, there were over 400,000 German prisoners of war in the United Kingdom, and as late as 1946, most were still awaiting repatriation.
- Of those, around 25,000 chose to stay in Britain or to return having been sent back home. The government of the day, knowing what these men would find in their native countries, thoughtfully issued them with return tickets! A sizeable number married British women. One was a neighbour of mine as I was growing up. The late Patricia Wendorf wrote her story, called “Peacefully, in Berlin”.
- Around 10,000 Jewish children reached Great Britain before 1939 as part of the Kindertransport initiative. It was a heart-breaking decision for continental Jewish parents to put their children, sometimes as young as two, on a train and send them into the unknown.
- Before the outbreak of war in 1939 Jewish adults could, with great difficulty, come to the UK on restrictive visas. The most usual route in was as a domestic servant.
- Nearly all foods were rationed in the UK during the Second World War and in Cornwall, where The Girl with the Yellow Star is set, clotted cream was banned as were country cheeses. Farms were encouraged to grow as many potatoes as they could – or “Teddies” as the Cornish called them.
- One food that was never rationed was fish and chips. Even a wartime government knew its limits!
- In December 1945, a ship called the SS Tilapa docked in Bristol. On board were ten million bananas, almost the first in the UK since the outbreak of war. One mother recalled slicing them into equal pieces for her wide-eyed offspring, who had never seen a banana before.
The Girl With The Yellow Star
“We have to wear the yellow star! It’s the rules!” the little girl sobs. But her mother presses a desperate finger to her mouth. “Darling, today is different. We are going to leave our stars behind and go on a long journey. We must be very, very quiet, and pray nobody finds us until we are safe in England…”
Cornwall, England, 1943. When her husband is killed fighting in the Navy, grief-stricken Gwenna Devoran tries to fill the void in her life by offering shelter to two Jewish refugees in her farmhouse high on the Cornish cliffs. But at the train station, ten-year-old Lotti is waiting all alone in her neat red coat.
Lotti’s mother died protecting her on the journey. Now Gwenna is all this little girl has. Traumatised Lotti won’t speak a word: and when an order comes for German prisoners-of-war to work the farm she’s in more danger than ever. What will happen if the Germans find out Lotti is Jewish.
When Gwenna overhears Lotti chattering happily to German captain Max Reiner, showing him her teddy bear, her heart stops. Shocked to hear Lotti finally speak, Gwenna is terrified for the little girl she’s grown to love. But perhaps she can she trust the kindness in this German officer’s gentle voice and bright blue eyes…
As Lotti heals a little more each day, Gwenna risks everything to spend more time with Max, certain he doesn’t believe in the Nazi cause. But then a rumour starts in the village: Max himself fired the torpedo that killed Gwenna’s husband.
Devastated, Gwenna’s heart is torn between loyalty to her country, the memory of her husband, and love for the little girl she secretly hopes could become her own. With Max desperate to prove his innocence, does she dare to trust him? And should she fight for the three of them to become a family – or will the war tear them all apart?
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Natalie is a RITA nominated, USA Today Bestselling author of six novels: The Dress Thief, The Milliner's Secret (re-titled "The Girl who Dreamed of Paris"), The Wardrobe Mistress, Summer in the Vineyards, The Secret Vow and most recently, The Paris Girl. Look out for a heartwrenching WW2 inspired novel set in Italy, due out Autumn 2020.
Visit her website at https://www.nataliemegevans.uk
Natalie Meg Evans has had a varied career, first as an actor in London's fringe theatre, then as a PR exec and company director and finally, dream achieved, as a full-time writer. She lives with two very lively dogs in rural mid Suffolk.
Natalie has collected numerous awards for her writing including the UK's Harry Bowling Prize (2012). The Dress Thief was nominated for a coveted RITA Award by Romance Writers of America and it won the Greek Public Book award for the best foreign novel; also, the UK's Festival of Romance readers award (where readers rather than industry professionals select and judge). The Milliner's Secret was shortlisted for the same award.
Natalie was also nominated for the coveted Daphne du Maurier award and was named a finalist for a Romance Writers of America Golden Heart award.
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