Lizzie’s War
The setting of this novel is WW2, but the chief character also has her own personal struggles. The action centres on Lizzie, the widowed mother of a young child living in the East End of London. She owns a hat design and production business which benefits from the fact that whilst clothing is as strictly rationed as food, hats are not. Women with enough money and a special occasion in mind could dress up dreary clothes with a smart hat. Lizzie seems to be a remarkably astute and optimistic businesswoman with the skill to exploit such a situation, even in the tough economic circumstances of 1940s London. The juxtaposition of the grim, austere wartime capital and the indulgent sophistication of stylish millinery is striking, and her success is appealing but perhaps rather improbable.
Around Lizzie are others, mostly of course women, left to manage their lives against a background of frequent air raids at home and scant information about the safety of their menfolk abroad. In these disruptive circumstances romances, deaths and new romances occur. This is made all the more intense since no one in 1941 could know when their ordeal would end. The hardship is only mitigated by their mutual support, both practical and emotional.
The real-life exploitation of wartime shortages and rationing by criminal elements brought with it intimidation and violence, and this is well described. Lizzie is caught up in it despite her wish for a simple, safe life with her daughter. She can only speculate about the source of the intrigues and scandal directed at her, but her personal war has to be fought alongside all the other difficulties. This light, romantic story has twists and turns of plot, but only one, predictable ending is possible.
