The story of two sisters separated during the Blitz, Secrets of a Charmed Life transports the reader to 1940 London where the Luftwaffe, German Airforce, starts relentlessly bombing London on September 7.The bombing continues in London for months, killing over 40,000 civilians, almost half of London.
Emmeline and Julia Downtree are half-sisters, who share the same mother Annie Downtree, a house maid, but different fathers. A scandalous situation in the 1940s.
Emmy imagines a better life for herself and sees her love and talent for sketching wedding dresses as the key to proving her worth and making her mother proud.
Somewhat resentful of her mother, who had Emmy when she was 16, Emmy serves more as a mother to Julia.
When Emmy and Julia are evacuated to the countryside as part of London's program to send all children to the safety of the countryside, Emmy sees her dream of becoming an apprentice to a West End costume designer so that she can learn to turn her sketches into actual wedding dresses slipping away from her.
Emmy and Julia are fortunate to find a caring home with sisters Charlotte and Rose in Thistle House in the Cotswald.
Due to Emmeline's ambition and tenacity in achieving her dream though, she returns to London with Julia before the skies fall with bombs. The sisters are separated and Emmeline, still a child at fifteen, assumes a new identity as part of the aftermath of the Blitz so that she can search for her missing sister.
Evacuating London's children to the countryside reminds me of the Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline where orphans from New York City were sent to the midwest on trains to be adopted. Some orphans found loving homes, while others were used as cheap labor.
Secrets of a Charmed Life is filled with insightful quotes, including:
- "Fear is not only a leaden foe, but a liar as well. It was not as bad as I thought it would be..."
- "When you are hungry for something, you often do not use your best judgment."
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