Synopses & Reviews
World War II is over, but for three Australian women on their way to new lives and new husbands in America, things are just beginning. Young, idealistic, and eager to live the American dream, Sheila, Dawn, and Gaynor travel by ocean liner to join the soldiers they swore to love when peacetime seemed like a lifetime away. But the world that awaits them on the other shore will challenge their illusions and their love, and force them to summon courage and strength they never knew they had.
Lois Battle's ear for dialogue and eye for detail bring characters and places to life as few authors can. Rich with the vibrant language and heady atmosphere of postwar America, War Brides captures the look and feel of one of this country's most memorable eras. But in her portrayal of three women coming face to face with the sometimes harsh and often joyful realities of marriage in a new land, Battle -- herself the daughter of an Australian war bride -- offers a timeless, universal story that will satisfy and entertain readers of every age.
Review
"An intelligent, poignant, funny, wistful novel of expectations, love and rebirth."
Richmond Times-Dispatch "This is just the kind of book you'd like to take onto the porch of a clapboard house, to read curled up in a wicker chair with a glass of iced tea at your side." Houston Chronicle
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"Outstanding . . . wonderfully warm . . . Battle is a gifted writer whose novels deserve acclaim." Baton Rouge Magazine
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"A superb old-fashioned novel." Los Angeles Herald-Examiner
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"A compelling novel . . . entirely riveting." Richmond Times-Dispatch
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"The characters are memorable, the settings believable, and the reading effortless. War Brides is a book that will interest you up to the last page, the last paragraph, even the last line." South Bend Tribune
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"A good, old-fashioned read." Charleston Evening Post
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"Satisfying and readable." Anniston Star
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"An arresting novel . . . Battle's characters are alive and believable. [Battle has] a skillful touch." The San Diego Union-Tribune
Synopsis
Penguin is pleased to reintroduce readers to ?born storyteller? (
The Washington Post) and
New York Times bestselling author Lois Battle and her delightful holiday tale of Josie Taternall and her South Carolina bed and breakfast. After her best friend?s narrow brush with death, Josie decides that life is too short to let old grievances stand in the way of family togetherness. This year, she resolves, her three grown daughters?the girls she raised so carefully yet with such mixed results?will come home for Christmas. With her uncanny ear for Southern sensibility and her sharp-eyed wit, Battle gives us the perfect upstairs/downstairs comedy and a portrait of a family in all its tender, touching, and flawed glory that readers young and old will cherish.
Synopsis
Come back to Florabama, Alabama, in this heartwarming New York Times bestseller for "a magical and surprising tour of [the] Deep South" (Pat Conroy) "We've been screwed blue and tattooed," quips Hilly Pruitt, upon hearing the news of Cherished Lady Lingerie's closing. Now unemployed, Hilly and the rest of the ex-bra seamstresses land in the Displaced Homemakers Program at Florabama's podunk community college. There they unexpectedly join forces with Bonnie Duke Cullman, an Atlanta society wife who's been downsized out of her marriage, and together they embark on a midlife survival course that will transform them all. Beautifully repackaged, Lois Battle's funny, heartfelt, and poignant novel will utterly enchant readers with its rich tapestry of unforgettable female friendships.
Synopsis
A
New York Times bestseller A Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club Selection
Welcome to Florabama, Alabama—a place where you can stop to sip a co'cola or iced tea and think about money and love. If you had'em, you were free to think about other things. If you didn't you couldn't think about anything else.
"We've been screwed blue and tattooed," quips Hilly Pruitt, upon hearing the news of the closing of Cherished Lady, the local lingerie factory where she's worked a lifetime. The same day the plant closes, Bonnie Duke Cullman, former-deb turned Atlanta-society-wife, has herself been downsized—right out of her marriage and picture-perfect life. In an unlikely alliance, Bonnie, Hilly, and the rest of the ex-bra seamstresses join forces in the "Displaced Homemakers Program" at a podunk community college. Together they endure a midlife survival course where the events of a single year forever alter the way they see the world and their places in it.
Synopsis
A vibrant novel set in postwar America from the New York Times bestselling author of The Florabama Ladies' Auxiliary and Sewing Circle
World War II is over, but for three young Australian women who meet on their way to new lives and new husbands in America, the adventure is just beginning. Sheila, Dawn, and Gaynor will need to reacquaint themselves with the military men they swore to love when peace seemed like a lifetime away. But the world that awaits them is filled with new challenges, and each woman will be forced to summon courage and strength she never knew she had.
Brilliantly capturing an era that continues to enthrall, War Brides will be embraced by fans of historical fiction and the many readers who are rediscovering Lois Battle and her timeless brand of storytelling.
About the Author
Lois Battle's seven novels include Bed and Breakfast, Storyville, War Brides, and A Habit of the Blood, (all Penguin). She lives in Beaufort, South Carolina.