LITERARY REVIEW

Intro: The first in an epic new series from the number one international bestselling author, Daughters of War is a stunning tale of sisters, secrets and bravery in the darkness of war-torn France

LIVING in an old stone cottage on the edge of a beautiful French village, three sisters yearn for the end of the war.

Set in 1944 in the Dordogne area of France, near the village of Sainte-Cécile, we encounter a series of perilous events during the Nazi occupation of the country.

When their father Charles passed away, their mother Claudette took the girls to the family’s cottage in France and returned alone to England. In her absence, Hélène, the eldest, takes the motherly role and tries her hardest to steer her family to safety – even as the Nazi occupation becomes more threatening. She longs to be an artist, but she is a nurse who is employed by Hugo Marchant, the local doctor at the surgery in Sainte-Cécile. She puts her own hopes and dreams on hold. Due to the war the sisters are unable to return to England and they hope no one in the village will tell the Germans they are only half-French. Like everyone in France, they resent the Germans presence, and can’t wait for the allies to arrive and the war to end.

The middle sister, Elise, is a rebel and is covertly aiding the Resistance at the side of her lover Victor. She does so when not working at her own café, but it becomes a place and central focus where information is collected.

The youngest of the sisters, Florence, dreams for a world where France is free. She looks after the home, cooks for her siblings and tends to the garden.

One night the Allies visit their cottage requesting assistance, and from here the Baudin sisters are drawn closer to the violence. Tensions are high and as events unfold family secrets from their mysterious past begin to emerge. They threaten to unravel everything they hold most dear. But these young women are doing everything they can to hang on and by surviving the war.

Daughters of War is a stunning tale which is a rich tapestry of courage, love, and sacrifice. It is also chilling and taut in its vivid portrayal of the horrors of war. Dinah Jefferies deftly brings to life the resilience of the human spirit through the dark shadows of war. There are scenes of a horrific sexual assault described in such detail that the reader will likely be brought to tears. The cascading effects of the violence of war and how it is described in such fine detail is a testament to the challenges of living in an occupied country under tyranny: hardship, danger and loss.

Hélène’s emotional state deteriorates and is heartbreaking as she worries about her sisters, friends and patients. On that dark night the Allies came knocking at the cottage door, she fell for Jack, one of the special operations soldiers, who needed their help. Hélène constantly hoped he would feel the same way and she desperately wants to be loved. The novel unfolds in such a way that the reader is taken on an emotional rollercoaster. There is naturally some mystery surrounding Jack given his character role, but this certainly adds to the excitement in the first of which is to be a trilogy series.

Secondary characters are also constructed particularly well. Other than Jack, there is Victor, Dr Hugo and his wife Maria, and a German officer, Captain Meyer, who was kind and helped protect some of the villagers from Nazi reprisals. The strength of love, family and community oozes in a tale that depicts the horrors of war and the passions that arise from it.  

The characters are well-drawn and the author uses vivid details to help us feel like we’re in the midst of the action and facing similar circumstances. The beautiful French countryside, the village life, their daily routines and interactions, and the realities of war are richly described.

We should wait to see with eager anticipation what else happens after France is liberated, and especially to the Baudin sisters, once the next book in the series is released.

– Daughters of War is published by HarperCollins, 520 pp