Between the wars, the lives of four neighboring English families intersect in this “highly recommended” saga by a New York Times–bestselling author (Sunday Express).
Four English families’ hopes, dreams, and struggles are played out against a radically changing world. Living side by side on Manor Park Avenue as their neighborhood begins to recover from the Great War only to be pushed into a new one, these neighbors stick together through thick and thin.
The Dreaming Suburb: In the spring of 1919, Sgt. Jim Carver arrives home to care for his seven children after the death of his wife. The Carvers’ neighbor Eunice Fraser has lost her husband and must now care for her son alone. Edith Clegg takes in lodgers and looks after her sister, Becky, whose mind has been shattered by a past trauma. And no one knows much about the mysterious Friths, who moved to the Avenue before the war.
The Avenue Goes to War: Jim Carver dedicates himself to the war effort, but his eldest son, Archie, is having an illicit affair with a neighbor, threatening to undo all of his accomplishments. While Esther Frith lives a solitary life seemingly oblivious to the war going on outside, Harold Godbeer hates what the conflict is doing to his country. Living side by side as their neighborhood becomes a battleground, two generations of Manor Park Avenue must unite if they—and their way of life—are to survive during wartime.
