Arrow Books
ISBN: 978-0099562580
Published March 18, 2013
Mass Market, 448 pages (includes excerpt of The Workhouse Girl)
Last week I reviewed The Lady's Maid
by Dilly Court which I truly enjoyed. (Read my review.) I liked The Best of
Daughters even more. It takes place between 1912 and 1917 during
the first World War years that signalled so much change in society,
from the role of women to the class status. In many ways it reminded
me of Downton Abbey.
Daisy Lennox grew up in a privileged
household but she longs for more in life than just to be married and
to become the lady of the house entertaining social events. When her
father's business faces ruin, her family is forced to move to the
country. Daisy eventually becomes engaged to her childhood friend,
Rupert, a wealthy man with status, but she feels stifled from all the
social obligations her new role will entail. Just before they are to
marry, war is declared and Rupert who enlisted is now fighting. Daisy
takes matters into her own hands and joins the FANYs, an organization
of brave women who gave up their comfortable lives and were trained
to help nurse the injured soldiers right in the midst of the
battlefields.
Once again, Court entertained me right
from the first page down to the last. The story is full of action and
memorable characters brought to life through Court's deft penmanship
and stirring dialogue. Daisy is a great character, vulnerable and
struggling to find her place in her world, but courageous, bold and
patiently striving to attain it. I love how Court developed her
character from a naive young woman to one who experiences the horrors
of war and comes out a mature and determined woman who makes the most
of her experiences to pave the way for women who are strong and who
work for a better society.
There are twists and turns in the plot
and Court kept me guessing as to what would happen to the characters.
Nothing was ever predictable or boring. The characters are flawed but
likable and they seemed very real to me. I could very well see this
story turned into a BBC mini-series.
Note: This book is rated C = clean read.
To read more reviews, please visit the TLC Book Tour page.
To find out more about this book, visit Great British Reads.
Dilly Court grew up in North-east London and began her career in television, writing scripts for commercials. She is married with two grown-up children and four grandchildren, and now lives in Dorset on the beautiful Jurassic Coast with her husband.
Dilly is a Sunday Times Top Ten bestselling author in the UK, where she has sold over a million books to date. Her books have this year been released for the first time as ebooks in the United States. Print and e-editions are available in Canada and Australia.
Reviewed by Laura
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