Product Description
Pretty, feisty fifteen year old Andrea Mackintosh is used to a sophisticated lifestyle visiting the cultural capitals of Europe with her diplomat father. Then in 1942 she is plunged into the austere world of a convent boarding school to which her father sends her in order to escape the London Blitz. With the world in turmoil this seems like one place untouched by events. At first Protestant Andrea feels like a stranger in an alien world, but soon her bewitching personality and academic prowess makes her a favourite of the authoritative, snobbish but somehow endearing Reverend Mother. Gradually she becomes assimilated into convent life and begins to enjoy the company of the other girls, notably the strong-willed Clare Bingley, with a temperament not unlike hers, and appreciates the misadventures, petty feuds and numerous undercurrents which reflect in a minor way the uncertainty of the world outside.
Nicola Thorne was born in South Africa and, after a spell in New Zealand with her mother who was born in Wellington, came to England as a child where her parents finally separated. She spent her youth in the North of England, where she was educated first at a convent school and then a co-educational school. After completing her education at the London School of Economics she then spent most of her adult life in London. She has made a long career as a writer and is the author of over fifty novels. For a number of years Nicola has been among the top most borrowed authors from public libraries in the UK (PLR statistics) and many of her books have been published in foreign languages apart from English. After fifteen years spent in Dorset, she now lives in Devon.
Nicola Thorne was born in South Africa and, after a spell in New Zealand with her mother who was born in Wellington, came to England as a child where her parents finally separated. She spent her youth in the North of England, where she was educated first at a convent school and then a co-educational school. After completing her education at the London School of Economics she then spent most of her adult life in London. She has made a long career as a writer and is the author of over fifty novels. For a number of years Nicola has been among the top most borrowed authors from public libraries in the UK (PLR statistics) and many of her books have been published in foreign languages apart from English. After fifteen years spent in Dorset, she now lives in Devon.
Synopsis
World War II is raging across Europe, but the enclosed, sheltered community of the Convent of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary is untouched by world events. The nuns and girls go about their daily lives oblivious to the horrors of that dreadful conflict, their routine punctuated by prayers, meals and lessons. For Andrea, a young Protestant girl new to the Convent, the monotony and the plethora of rules and restrictions comes as a shock. Yet she is attracted by the mysteries of the Catholic faith, and she enjoys the company of her new friends, notably the strong-willed but popular Clare Bingley. In time, she will come to look upon her years at the Convent one of the happiest periods in her life, when deep and lasting friendships were formed, with much fun and laughter...
