Land Girls: A Spirited Novel of Love and Friendship [Paperback]

Angela Huth (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 1998

In rural World War II England, three very different young women from very different backgrounds find themselves thrown together, sharing an attic bedroom and laying the foundations for a friendship that would last a lifetime. Land Girls is the intelligent and often heartbreaking account of their first summer together. With wit and charm, Angela Huth has created a novel of delicate passions, richly observed.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

During World War II, young English women left the cozy world of traditional female jobs for exhausting agricultural labor so that male farm workers could take up arms. Agatha, Stella, and Prue are from distinctly different backgrounds and social classes, but genuine patriotism for their country binds them together. Pushed beyond their imagined limits, they all achieve what their culture has denied them as women: adventure, physical challenge, and personal growth. As ordinary citizens fighting for their country the best way they can, they transform themselves into women of honor, courage, and stature, proving themselves more noble than the highest generals. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

As WW II rages in the background, three young city women learn about love and themselves on an English farm. High drama and intense meaning, Huth (Invitation to the Married Life) shows in this charming work, manifest themselves not just in grand battles but also in everyday life. Serving in the Women's Land Army of replacements for farmhands gone to war are Ag Marlowe, a studious Cambridge undergraduate, Prue Lumley, a sexy, working-class hairdresser, and the dreamily romantic Stella Sherwood (who wonders: "What's the point of life if you're not in love?"). For a year, the three share an attic dormitory at the Lawrence farm in Dorset. Hard outdoor work-daily pre-dawn milking, clipping the hooves and befouled hindquarters of sheep, cleaning the pigsty-is a constant. So is the presence of Joe, the Lawrences' handsome, asthmatic son. The war itself slashes into farm life only occasionally-through the death of one of Prue's friends, through government control of food and clothing-as the emphasis remains on the personal relationships and understandings of the characters. And these characters are fully realized-not just the women but supporting players as well, including the 53-year-old Mr. Lawrence, who, upon first seeing Stella at work, is nearly overpowered by the urge to touch her neck. Here are women and men whom readers will take to their hearts, and a story they will cherish.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 378 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin; First Edition edition (April 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312171951
• ISBN-13: 978-0312171957
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,347,230 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice,easy read., June 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Land Girls: A Spirited Novel of Love and Friendship (Paperback)

This is a nice,easy read. Set in England during WW2 it is an engaging tale of three young woman who go to the a farm in the country to help out as part of the war effort. I loved the attention to detail employed by the author to evoke the senses particularly in her descriptions of farm life and nature. Whilst it is not a very deep novel, it is a pleasant and rewarding read.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars INTERESTING!, June 24, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Land Girls: A Spirited Novel of Love and Friendship (Paperback)

It's a good read. Had never heard of the "land girls before, looked interesting, and it was!. Good characters, reminded me of some of my own girlfriends, the wild one, the shy one, the perfect one. Liked learning more about farm life in England at the time, sort of made me yearn for a good day of hard yet rewarding work. Also loved the older men in the story dealing with their lost youth, their dreams, their crushes on the young girls, it was sweet. And oh, that farm boy, busy lad I must say! All in all a good book, hope it makes a great movie.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Land Girls are great!, May 21, 2000

By 

Rebecca Brown "rebeccasreads" (Clallam Bay, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Land Girls (Hardcover)

It's 1941 & farmhands are conscripted for the war sofarmers enroll in England's new Land Army, which sends young women outof the cities into the fields. These girls bring to the distant, quiet countryside high adventure, clashes in culture & all their passion for life. During my early years, the couple who eventually adopted me had a Land Girl to help them raise the evacuated children so this novel reminded me of memories I'd tucked carefully away. Angela Huth has recreated a charming & defiant time of life with a special twist.Great reading!...