The Accidental Daughter

Such a moving well written story. I was taken from a traumatic "shooting at dawn" to the heady atmosphere of Soho jazz clubs, everyday life and wartime in the east end of London. I loved the frills and glamour of the milliners workshop. Through this runs the horror of war, all woven together by the intriguing relationships and the overriding fear of cowardice. This is a truly fascinating and moving story, easy to read and hard to put down. I enjoyed it so much I read it again.

I found this to be a very engaging read, well-written and original. The characters and details really draw you in. I particularly enjoyed the glimpses of life in Soho and the insights into tailoring and hat-making, war-time London and jazz. The whole concept of soldiers suffering from shell shock being shot by their own side is shocking and tragic and I was close to tears more than once in the early part of the book. But then it moves on to exploring the aftermath of that accusation of cowardice, creating a trail of carefully woven threads through the generations that follow, eventually reaching a satisfying conclusion in the modern day. I'm going to read it again.