The Lost English Girl

In her new book, The Lost English Girl, Julia Kelly brings to light an aspect of WWII that I have never read about before. Operation Pied Piper was a program set up to protect British children during the bombings in WWII which sent them out of London to rural England where they were fostered for years by other families. Nearly two million children were involved in this program and through the lives of Viv, Joshua and their daughter Maggie, Kelly weaves a poignant and eye-opening story about a small family that was ripped apart by the war, by the choices they made and by the choices that were taken from them.

Through multiple POVs, Kelly shows the impact of this separation on the child, the parents, and the foster mother. Emotions run high and are complicated between the two women who love Maggie. Viv is thankful her daughter is safe and cared for, away from the bombing, but she also misses her child and fears her growing attachment to her foster family who have grown to love the little girl.

Kelly includes complex themes of religion, antisemitism, complicated family dynamics, the lack of rights and choices for women and the repressive hold the Catholic church held. There are some twists, but the trajectory of the story was predictable, and Kelly provides characters you'll love and some you'll love to hate. Despite getting Joshua's POV and seeing his gradual self-discovery, the book focuses more on the women's perspectives, and I enjoyed learning the impact of the war on women and seeing Viv's strong personal development.

Predictable, but enjoyable and enlightening, this is a lighter historical fiction read that features the resiliency of women and is a story that will appeal to fans of Kristen Harmel, Pam Jenoff, and Natasha Lester. I recommend reading the author's notes at the end of the book for a greater understanding of the impact of the Operation Pied Piper program.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada for this advanced copy which was provided in exchange for my honest review. 

My Rating: 4 stars

Author: Julia Kelly

Genre: Historical Fiction (WWII)

Type and Source: eBook from publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada

First Published: March 7, 2023

Book Description from GoodReads: The acclaimed author of the “sweeping and beautifully written novel” (Woman’s World) The Light Over London weaves an epic saga of love, motherhood, and betrayal set against World War II.

Liverpool, 1935: Raised in a strict Catholic family, Viv Byrne knows what’s expected of her: marry a Catholic man from her working-class neighborhood and have his children. However, when she finds herself pregnant after a fling with Joshua Levinson, a Jewish man with dreams of becoming a famous Jazz musician, Viv knows that a swift wedding is the only answer. Her only solace is that marrying Joshua will mean escaping her strict mother’s scrutiny. But when Joshua makes a life-changing choice on their wedding day, Viv is forced once again into the arms of her disapproving family.

Five years later and on the eve of World War II, Viv is faced with the impossible choice to evacuate her young daughter, Maggie, to the countryside estate of the affluent Thompson family. In New York City, Joshua gives up his failing musical career to serve in the Royal Air Force, fight for his country, and try to piece together his feelings about the family, wife, and daughter he left behind at nineteen. However, tragedy strikes when Viv learns that the countryside safe haven she sent her daughter to wasn’t immune from the horrors of war. It is only years later, with Joshua’s help, that Viv learns the secrets of their shared past and what it will take to put a family back together again.

Telling the harrowing story of England’s many evacuated children, bestselling author Julia Kelly’s The Lost English Girl explores how one simple choice can change the course of a life, and what we are willing to forgive to find a way back to the ones we love and thought lost.