Celebrations at the Toffee Factory
Celebrations at the Toffee Factory is the final instalment in Glenda Young’s much-loved Toffee Factory trilogy, set in the North-East of England during WWI. The action here takes place in 1919 when the war has just ended, and normal life starts to resume.
The novel centres on the intertwined lives of Anne, Hetty and Elsie, each woman facing difficult choices and dilemmas. Anne, recently married to Mr Jack, the owner of the toffee factory, must support her husband as their business struggles to survive, but finds herself starting to distrust his motives and behaviour, her jealousy threatening to derail not just their livelihood but their marriage. Hetty is torn between her love for Dirk, a Belgian worker brought over to assist in the local munitions factory, and her former fiancé, Bob, who is returning from the Front eager to marry her. While Elsie yearns for a life of excitement and glamour, rejecting the love of solid, decidedly unexciting Stan, a gardener at the toffee factory. All three women have become accustomed to their independence and are not happy with the prospect of handing over their jobs to the returning soldiers.
The plot follows a familiar trajectory scattered with secrets, romances, misunderstandings, dilemmas – all taking place within cosy domestic settings described with affection by the author. The setting of the toffee factory is vividly recreated with all the sweet smells of boiling sugar and stickiness, enhanced by meticulously researched details of early toffee production. The historical context is present but never in a heavy-handed way; mention is made of the loss of family members, but the grim reality of warfare is kept very much at a distance.
Fans of family sagas will find much to enjoy here; it is a comforting, emotional read that celebrates friendship, perseverance and hope, and is a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy.
