Dear lovers of beautiful Poole,
So many readers loved learning about the Poole Lifeboat in The Last Boat Home, so I’ve written you another story set around the heartbeat of Poole, the lifeboat station and crew, and all the industry of Poole Harbour: The Lifeboat Girls.
Meet my gorgeous girls, like poor Julia, who lost her dear mother so young and works herself to the bone as a laundress trying to keep her siblings from the workhouse, along with her adored older brother, Wilbur. And then there’s feisty redhead Kathy – daughter of the lifeboat Cox, a suffragette, shop girl, and a keen oarswoman, determined to become a regular lifeboat crew member, even though it’s impossible for a girl. Sweet, gentle Betsy has a heart to match her pretty gold curls, and a tender spot for Kathy’s brother Bertie, who works in the gasworks, but she’s strong as well and joins the lifeboat crew when asked in an emergency. And Flora, the daffodil farmer’s daughter from Brownsea Island, who sings like an angel and has loved Jesse Stokes, the ferryman’s son, for as long as she can remember.
Oh, and I can’t wait for you to meet Natalia Orlov – our brilliant Russian royalty ballerina who escaped the Bolshevik uprising in Russia, found refuge in Brownsea Castle, and became best friends with Flora before heading off for new horizons on the great White Star Liner Titanic …
The story begins in 1912, just before the tragic sinking of the Titanic, and it follows our girls and their brothers and sweethearts up until the first Christmas of The Great War, in December 1914.
Hop into the lifeboat with me and join my lifeboat girls for an emotional ride of heartwarming friendship, community resilience, and a nice cup of gentle romance.
Grab your copy of The Lifeboat Girls!
