The Soldier's Wife

The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Vivienne de la Mare lives a quiet life on the tiny island of Guernsey with her two daughters, teenager Blanche and young, precocious Millie. She also cares for her aging mother in law, who suffers from dementia. Her husband is fighting for the Allies in England. Vivienne is torn between leaving the island before the German occupation to possibly keep her children safe or staying in familiar surroundings and suffering the consequences. When she spots the tiny ship that has been sent to take her family and many of her neighbors to England, Vivienne makes a snap decision to stay. Within days, Germans planes bomb the opposite end of the island and officers move in to occupy the deserted neighboring home. Frightened, Vivienne tries to keep her family quiet and obey the new rules, but at the same time, against her will, she is drawn towards one of the tall, quiet officers - as he, to her as well. As their affair moves forward, Vivienne is placed under immense stress - trying to keep their attraction quiet, concern over her mother-in-law's declining health, her young daughter's talk of ghosts, and the question of involving herself with the starving victims who are fortifying the island. Can regular people become quiet heroes and sacrifice their own wants and desires to help someone in need?





The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was the first book to wake me up to the appeal and beauty of the Channel Islands. The Soldier's Wife seconds my wish to visit the lovely islands of Guernsey and Jersey.



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