A Wife's Courage: The BRAND NEW Battersea saga for 2023

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Winnie is a wonderful character: caring, loving and she's always there for her son, David; Rachel who works at the Tavern and anyone else who needs a listening ear. A Mother’s Secret’ is superbly written. The author certainly knows how to grab your attention from the start and draws you into what proves to be one hell of a compelling story. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fast pace throughout. I felt as though I was part of the story myself and at the heart of all the action, which is thanks to Kitty’s very realistic and vivid storytelling. I always think that a sign of a good book is when I get far too involved with the story. Well I certainly got involved with ‘A Mother’s Secret’. I found that as I was reading, I would say random comments out loud about what I would like to say to certain characters if I could catch up with them- the main one being David.

Heartbroken and threatened by scandal, Constance is forced to wed Albie and moves to Battersea, where she suffers unforgiving stares and cruel whispers from the neighbours. Trapped in a bitter and loveless marriage without a penny to her name, Constance has no choice but to stay and surrender. Will she ever find freedom – or happiness – again? This is my first ever Kitty Neale book, set just before world war two we meet Winnie, she runs the Battersea Tavern. Her aggressive and known to be violent husband stays behind the scenes letting Winnie do all the hard graft. She dotes on her only son, David, an attractive (and he knows it) spoilt man child who thinks nothing of using his looks and mothers good nature to skate by in life. Rachel is her dab hand barmaid who works hard, is respectable and has her own family nightmare, her sister Hilda, sober she is the sweetest and kindest, drunk she opens her mouth and embarrasses and hurts poor Rachel with her bile. We also meet sweet Jan as she starts up an innocent relationship with one of the regulars in the Tavern. As the story develops we get to meet the characters and more of their lives, belt up and prefer for an emotive ride. Seventeen-year-old Constance has had a privileged upbringing in Clapham, with staff to attend to her every need. But her parents have always been cold and distant, never showing her love.When their marriage is upended, Jennifer must go on a journey with a young woman she just met to discover a truth that might be too much for either of them to bear.

Winnie is running The Battersea Tavern at the onset of the Second World War, and alongside her faithful barmaid, Rachel, they welcome their regulars in with pleasant conversation and the promise of a pint. Winnie’s lazy husband, Brian, spends most of his time in his armchair, whilst their son, David, doesn’t have an honest bone in his body. But then she learned that she was adopted and she finally understood the true nature of her plight. Jenny would have loved nothing better than to find her real family and to finally understand where she came from. Now 16 years old, she's finally managed to escape the cruel confines of the orphanage, and enter the real world. Finding work at a nearby café, Pearl is thrilled to start earning her own money, even if she must contend with sharp-tongued Dolly Dolby.Even as a child, Kitty had an incredible imagination. She was always telling her friends and family stories some of which were quite horrific; though, to her family, they were more of a source of amusement than a cause for concern. Winnie is the landlady of the Battersea Tavern that she runs with her barmaid Rachel Robb, it was home and all the punters now are all in conversation about the coming war how long will this one last? The Family Secret is a one can't put downable read, and boyo boy there's a lot along the way to surface as you read. I miss Winnie, Rachel and Jan, and I adored Mrs Savage who although played a small part made up for it with character!

Pearl will now have to take over Nora’s care and plans to take her to Winchester. However, when Bessie’s will is read, she has left the shop and premises to Pearl, yet with a proviso. Pearl not only has to take over Nora’s care, she must do it in Battersea, moving into the shop and premises and living there for the rest of Nora’s natural life. Then, and only then, can she sell up. Then she hears two pieces of terrifying news – Kevin Dolby is up for parole and that her dear friend Bessie is gravely ill. Writing came into the picture soon after, an activity that added further stability to Kitty Neale’s life. She started out slow. At the insistence of a friend, Kitty started attending a regular gathering of writers. But when a young woman crosses her path, the secrets of Winnie's past threaten to turn her world upside down. There's nothing stronger than a mother's love - but can it ever have a second chance? The author does not know if she would have ever pursued her writing dreams if tragedy hadn’t come into her life. Kitty’s son was 27-years-old when he died. The occurrence nearly broke Kitty.Over time, her work began to take on a life of its own. Kitty found that she could take the people she had met over her lifetime and the experiences she had encountered and turn them into compelling stories. Kitty Neale is a British author that writes thrilling dramatic novels that explore friendships, family life and the hardships that plague normal life. Kitty’s stories are inspired by her own personal experiences and the tragedies she has encountered in her life. Jennifer Lavender never felt like she belonged. She was always working so hard to earn her parent’s love and attention but nothing she did felt like it was ever enough.

He's inherited his father's lazy streak and can't seem to hold down a job, but when war is declared Winnie is determined to keep her son safe. She's still haunted by the choice she made years ago as a desperate young woman, and she won't make the same mistake of letting her family be taken from her... Many of the author’s books are set in South London, in locations with which Kitty is intimately familiar. She writes a lot about dysfunctional families and tragedies. Battersea Tavern is run by Winnie & Brian, but it is Winnie doing most of the running around. She was a wonderful character, someone who was there for everyone no matter what and listened to everyone. They was also her son David who could be exasperating but also very endearing. But he does cause his mum a lot of grief and definitely should have had more responsibility.Neither Elsie nor Bert nor their children wanted to move to Candle Lane. The street in Battersea is modest but they all miss their home in Wimbledon, especially the kids, Ann and Arthur.