Trumpet Morning
Taid Petrie is a Revivalist preacher with a tendency to blow his trumpet on the beach at every opportunity and announce that he is ready to face God. It’s an amusing image and even more so seen through the eyes of his mortified Granddaughter Nell – it also sets the tone for the whole novel. Humour and irony abound within this eccentric and proud Welsh family. They may be poor, they may row fiercely, they may routinely embarrass each other, but their love and loyalty invisibly bind them together.
Living within a small farming community on Anglesey on the eve of World War Two means that tough times are ahead. Taid and Nain are the bedrock of the family, but numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins make up Nell’s large extended family. At eleven Nell is just on the borderland between child and adult. Between school studies, amateur dramatics, chapel and trips out with her aunts she still finds time to idolise her young uncle Guto and his fiancée, Olive.
Trumpet Morning is a delight – witty and heartbreaking by turns. Maureen Peters writes with such a light touch that it’s easy to get caught up in the trials and tribulations of the extraordinary Petrie family. The ending leaves the way clear for a sequel – let’s hope we don’t have to wait too long for its arrival.
