Elaine Benson, a writer of biographies of pioneer Canadian women, applies for a job with Miss Moira Madison who wishes to write her memoirs - mainly those covering her work during the war with the Canadian Army Nursing Sisters. Elaine is aware that she was not first choice for the position, but it is only when she has accepted that she discovers that her predecessor drowned in the lake in the first week on the job.
Written from two points of view, that of Elaine in the present and of Miss Madison in the past, the story switches back and forth as Moira recalls her war-time experiences from the time she arrived in England in June 1940 until she left in 1944.
As Elaine settles in she senses undercurrents in the household - not least from Ruth, who acts as housekeeper and carer for Miss Madison, and who it is clear is suspicious of Elaine. From the cook, Lizzie, Elaine learns that Ruth’s mother was housekeeper before her, and although brought up with the Madison family, Ruth has been taught to ‘know her place’.
When the Madison extended family arrive for Thanksgiving, the tensions within the family become very obvious, as the
family are clearly unsettled by the fact of Moira writing her memoirs.
This is a marvellous book, the war-time experiences, although mainly domestic, are a captivating account of a young girl from a wealthy family far from home encountering a different way of life. That these experiences still have an effect more than fifty years on is the strength of the mystery, and keeps the reader turning pages to the satisfying conclusion.
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Lizzie Hayes
Vicki’s first book is entitled Scare the Light Away