Wickwythe Hall was an engaging page-turner. Wickwythe Hall presents a view of the war from the side of privilege and yet keeps it grounded, relatable and engaging. While the day-to-day struggles they come against are not necessarily comparable to the relative masses, their emotions and fears and anxieties are altogether real and palpable.
In the latter part of the story, tension builds as Churchill’s plans for Operation Catapult are revealed, the horror of the plan balanced with the British needs to ensure survival. It’s a dreadful plan, shocking in concept. We have the privilege of looking back over history, and so my head and my heart struggled with this piece – it hadn’t happened, one wonders how the war might have turned out quite differently, but the horror of it is still there.
What I appreciated, however, is how carefully Little wove this piece of history into the storyline instead of it being the story. (That is a different book for a different author, and one that I would read as a non-fiction tale.)
Author Little has also drawn up an engaging cast of characters, each providing the story with details of the time and place marvelously without becoming caricatures, adding atmosphere, balance and detail.
All-in-all, Judithe Little has an engaging voice and has created a wonderfully visual world for the reader. This book was definitely difficult to put down! If you are a fan of historical novels, Wickwythe Hall is a must-add to your reading list!

I was provided an advanced copy and all thoughts and opinions are my own. ( )

Another in the entry in the World War II genre. This book is a gigantic mess of a story featuring a beautiful Southern belle who has married into the English upper classes but is unable to bear her husband an heir to his estates, her old childhood love who is now a confidant to both Churchill and FDR, and a French refugee who escapes France during the Dunkirk evacuation and is obsessed with finding her two brothers who are serving in the French Foreign Legion. Sound complicated? Well, it is. And it’s also totally unbelievable – even as summer reading. ( )

Listened to this one. Really enjoyed it. ( )

A slow but steady read with well-told stories and character development. Not what I would call a page-turner, by any means; but it was a story I wanted to see through to the end. I was invested in the characters and their growth and choices in the midst of the day-to-day, moment-by-moment uncertainties of war. ( )

In the award-winning Wickwythe Hall, Judithe Little brings to life events few Americans know about. I loved the writing and these original and sympathetic characters. Little gives us a wonderful balance of the personal and the political, the carnage and romance.

In 1940, Nazi Germany pushed the British troops to the English Channel, saved only by the Miracle of Dunkirk. But France was left at the mercy of the Germans, refugees fleeing the carnage.

As Germany plans to take over France, a party converges at Wickwythe Hall, the country home of the Spring family, Tony and his American wife, Mabry.

Foremost is in the party is Winston Churchill, accompanied by Reid Carr, his American contact with President Roosevelt. Churchill pressures Carr to make America understand that the Battle for Britain can't be won without American warships.

Reid and Mabry were once in love, and perhaps still are. Mabry is no longer the vivacious and spirited girl Reid knew. Unable to bring a pregnancy to full term, feeling a failure, Mabry's garden is her therapy and escapee.

Then there is the beautiful Annelle LeMaire, an orphan taken in by the nuns. Just as she was to take her vows she joined the throng of refugees fleeing France. Annelle finds her way to the English coast where she would be rounded up as a suspicious immigrant. But Mabry, organizing to provide refreshments for the battle-weary and wounded soldiers, takes Annelle home to Wickwythe.

Annelle takes up work as a cook and gardener. Her only family are her brothers in the Foreign Legion and she is desperate to find them. Perhaps Reid Carr, a Foreign Legion veteran, can track them down.

Covering four years of the war, the novel brings to life the horrific scenes of warfare, the tensions and privations on the homefront, and the terrible choices war entails.

At the center of the novel is Operation Catapult, sanctioned by Roosevelt and directed by Churchill, the destruction of the French navy deemed necessary to prevent Germany from the control of the ships.

I received an ebook from the author through a giveaway on the Facebook group Breathless Bubbles and Books. My review is fair and unbiased. ( )