The Forgotten Daughter

By: Mary Wood

Narrated by: Becky Hindley

The Forgotten Daughter by Mary Wood is the gripping first book in The Girls Who Went to War series.

From a tender age, Flora felt unloved and unwanted by her parents, but she finds safety in the arms of caring nanny Pru. But when Pru is cast out of the family home, under a shadow of secrets and with a young baby boy of her own to care for, it shatters little Flora.

But over the years, Flora and Pru meet in secret - unbeknownst to Flora’s parents. Pru becomes the mother to Flora she never had, and Flora grows into a fine young woman. When Flora signs up to become a nurse with the St John’s ambulance, she begins to shape her life. But the drum of war beats loudly, and Flora’s world is turned upside down when she receives a letter asking her to join the Red Cross in Belgium.

With the fate of the country in the balance, it’s a time for bravery. Flora’s determined to be the strong woman she was destined to be. But with horror, loss and heartache on her horizon, there's a lot for young Flora to learn....

©Mary Wood 2018 (P)2018 Macmillan Publishers International Ltd

Unrelenting

I was hoping to learn about WWI but the story is only loosely based and could be set in any war. It is unrelenting sad with no humor and reads like a soap opera with one crisis following another and only marginally developed characterizations.

Unexpectedly Dickens Novel

This book reminded me of David Copperfield by Dickens. Every time something good happens, something tragic happens. I did not expect the ending that was written, though. Half expected tragedy. Story line was good with vague references to WWI. Strong female characters, as if the characters were taken from various diaries. Bravo! How brave they were to continue “enduring” through every event. The historical accuracy of how women lived and were treated in that time, no matter their station, was tangible. Overall, solid, but so sad.