Across the Mersey [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Annie Groves (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 2009

From the author of 'The Grafton Girls' comes the story of one Liverpool family preparing for the onslaught of World War Two, while trying not to fight among themselves. Jean and Vi are twins but couldn't be more different. Jean's proud of her honest, hardworking husband and their children, but there's never a penny to spare. Vi's equally proud of her husband's new role as a local councillor and their elegant new house, and has raised her children to expect the best. As war breaks out, agonising decisions must be faced. Should the oldest children enlist? Should the youngest be evacuated? All the traditional certainties are overturned. Then the twins' own younger sister, singer Francine, returns home unexpectedly and stirs up the past, even in the midst of present danger. This is a tremendous saga of fighting spirit and family closeness, and the belief that even though today is full of destruction and pain, there is hope for a better tomorrow.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Annie Groves: 'An engrossing story.' My Weekly 'A stirring and heartrending family saga!Against a backdrop of change when the suffragette movement was coming to the fore, the choices and dreams of a generation of women combine to create this passionate story.' Liverpool Daily Post 'Heartwrenching and uplifting in equal measure -- a tragic indictment of what can happen when you swap passion for duty. Roll on the sequel!' Take a Break 'Written from the heart' My Weekly 'Exceptionally good within this area, well written and beautifully developed characters.' Sarah Broadhurst, Bookseller --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Annie Groves lives in the North-West of England and has done so of all her life. She is also the author of Ellie Pride, Connie's Courage and Hettie of Hope Street, a series of novels for which she drew upon her own family's history, picked up from listening to her grandmother's stories when she was a child. Her most recent novels are Goodnight Sweetheart, Some Sunny Day, The Grafton Girls and As Time Goes By, which are based on recollections from members of her family who come from the city of Liverpool. Annie Groves also writes under the name Penny Jordan and has written over 170 books and sold over 84 million copies. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 489 pages
• Publisher: Magna Large Print Books (June 15, 2009)
• ISBN-10: 075053060X
• ISBN-13: 978-0750530606
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The first book in a great series, April 19, 2009

By 

M. E. Newell (Georgia, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Across the Mersey (Paperback)

Jean and Vi are twins but they couldn't be any more different. Vi is a married with two spoiled children and lives in Wallasey. Jean lives in Liverpool with her family. When war breaks out cousins Luke and Charlie enlist and Jean's daughter Grace decides to train for a nurse and Vi's daughter Bella decides that she has to get married Alan,a man who Bella believes can raise her social status. On one night Grace meet Seb Atkins, Alan cousin. A romance blooms under the threat of war, but in wartime not everyone will survive.

"Across the Mersey" is the first book in a great series. Ms. Grove give the reader great characters and a great storyline. Any fan of wartime novels will love book Annie Groves books.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hooked on the first page, September 17, 2011

By 

Patricia Kay "author and avid reader" (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Across the Mersey (Paperback)

This is the first book of a five-book series written about the Campion family in Liverpool beginning at the start of WWII. Jean and Vi are twins. Jean and her family live in what we here in the U.S. would term the "blue-collar" side of the Mersey River, closer to the docks, and Vi and hers live in Wallasey, on the other side of the Mersey, where the more professional/wealthier Liverpudlians live. Vi is a snob and her children reflect her idea that she's better than her "lower-class" sister. Jean is warm and loving and her children reflect their upbringing. We get to know Jean and Vi and their husbands, their younger sister Fran, and all their children. I personally loved Grace and Luke, Jean's two oldest, (Grace's story is prominently featured) but admit I was fascinated with Bella and Charlie, Vi's spoiled rotten two oldest (Bella's story is also prominently featured). The overall story is melodramatic and at times simplistic, but Groves is a magical storyteller who makes you care about the characters and forge an emotional connection to them from page one. Even though, as a writer, I kept seeing plot holes and convenient coincidences, as a reader, those flaws didn't matter and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. I've ordered all the books in the series and am looking forward to reading the rest. The setting and background of WWII is very well done and felt authentic and real to me. I also felt the facts were well-researched and presented. Highly recommended to all lovers of British fiction and books with a background of WWII.