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The Scarlet Sisters
- Author
- Helen Batten
- Narrator
- Annie Aldington
- Publisher
- Ebury Publishing
- Publish Date
- 19 November 2015
- Run Time
- 11 hours 36 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
‘Oh my goodness – another girl Mrs Swain!’
Clara’s normal iron composure broke and she screamed, ‘No! That’s not the bloody deal!’
And that is how my nanna, Bertha Swain, entered the world.
When Helen Batten’s marriage breaks down, she starts on a journey of discovery into her family’s past and the mysteries surrounding her enigmatic nanna’s early life.
What she unearths is a tale of five feisty red heads struggling to climb out of poverty and find love through two world wars. It’s a story full of surprises and scandal – a death in a workhouse, a son kept in a box, a shameful war record, a clandestine marriage and children taken far too soon. It’s as if there is a family curse.
But Helen also finds love, resilience and hope – crazy wagers, late night Charlestons and stolen kisses. As she unravels the story of Nanna and her scarlet sisters, Helen starts to break the spell of the past, and sees a way she might herself find love again.
Critics Review
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Fascinating ... a moving account of survival
Yours
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This fascinating delve into family history reveals the ways in which women’s lives have – and haven’t – changed
Readers Digest
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Helen Batten
- Narrator
- Annie Aldington
- Duration
- 11 hours 36 minutes
- Release Date
- 19 November 2015
- ISBN
- 9781473536821
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Ebury Publishing
- Genre
- Biography: historical, political and military, Social and cultural history, Family history, tracing ancestors
Synopsis
‘Oh my goodness – another girl Mrs Swain!’ Clara’s normal iron composure broke and she screamed, ‘No! That’s not the bloody deal!’And that is how my nanna, Bertha Swain, entered the world.When Helen Batten’s marriage breaks down, she starts on a journey of discovery into her family’s past and the mysteries surrounding her enigmatic nanna’s early life. What she unearths is a tale of five feisty red heads struggling to climb out of poverty and find love through two world wars. It’s a story full of surprises and scandal – a death in a workhouse, a son kept in a box, a shameful war record, a clandestine marriage and children taken far too soon. It’s as if there is a family curse. But Helen also finds love, resilience and hope – crazy wagers, late night Charlestons and stolen kisses. As she unravels the story of Nanna and her scarlet sisters, Helen starts to break the spell of the past, and sees a way she might herself find love again.
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