Springtime with the Railway Girls by Maisie Thomas
This vibrant and lively book continues the story of a group of women who worked for the Railway system in and around Manchester during the Secon World War. Over the previous eight books we have followed the progress of these women and their families and friends “through life, love and war”. There have been losses during air raids and similar incidents, and this book, like its predecessors, has impeccable descriptions of the situation that people faced in cities like Manchester, which was a target for enemy bombers. The aspects of work that the women undertook on and around the railways is closely researched and written, but none of the excitement or drive of the story is lost. While fictional, all the well written characters in this novel, even if only on the sidelines, are entirely consistent and true to life.
Like its predecessors, this novel picks up and develops the stories of three women in particular, without leaving the stories of other characters unresolved alongside. Persephone, the former London socialite from a wealthy family who has worked alongside the other women with her brand of charm and efficiency, must come to terms with a huge challenge in her life. Alison, formerly so determined to get married to a somewhat untrustworthy man, has a fulfilling professional role on the horizon, but a tragedy closer to home makes her look at her life from the perspective of others. Colette, for whom marriage brought misery and fear, is discovering new possibilities, but the shades of the past still haunt her in the form of her husband. Can the three women pull together with their friends to survive to the end of a war which still affects everyone in so many ways?
Persephone is in love, and yet her family are appalled with her relationship with a railway fireman. Such is the quality of the writing that compares her travelling to London for a few days of her former social life with her existence in an admittedly huge house working on the trains that her dilemma is plain to see. Her relationship and scant time with Matt are delicately described, but the reality that they can only be “happy for now” during the duration of the War is pressing on Persephone. Meanwhile Alison is happy in many ways, but sadly that does not extend to a member of her immediate family, and she must help several other people deal with their difficulties. I have found the story around Colette the most powerful of all – this book may be set in 1944 but her problems with domestic violence in many forms is still relevant today. A plausible husband and expectations from outsiders mean that she is still trapped in many ways, and the situation is intolerable for her and those who genuinely care. Apparently, people have contacted the author to say that it is a painfully accurate picture of an abuser. Not that this is all grim and despair by any means; for Colette as with the other women there is hope for the end of the War which has so changed their lives.
Altogether this is a really well written series, and this book is similarly an excellent read. It really brings a difficult period in recent history to life in all its depth. It is a female led dram without the grimness of many sagas, where friendship and hope can win out. I am so very grateful to have had the opportunity to read and review this novel, and thoroughly recommend it to everyone who enjoys a good wartime book set outside the capital with all its challenges.
Northern Reader 