Spitfire Girl
This is the third of Lily Baxter’s Second World War novels, and it follows the fortunes of 18-year-old orphan Susan Banks. She longs to fly, but that is impossible for her, a poor servant girl living in London. Then an act of kindness in rescuing an abandoned Labrador catapults her into a series of events that change her life. She meets Tony Richards, a flying instructor, and when life in London becomes unbearable, she follows him to Hampshire, where the local pub landlord and his daughter take her in. Susan works hard to pay her way, and her diligence and kindness are soon rewarded. Her friendship with Tony blossoms into romance, and Susan’s ambition to fly a Spitfire is still a distant dream, but this is wartime, and anything can happen…
This is a warm, entertaining novel with a wealth of interesting and engaging characters who have very human flaws and weaknesses. Susan’s kind and unassuming character make her very likeable. The settings are evocative, whether watching the air raids from Primrose Hill or enjoying the relative tranquillity of a Hampshire village. Although it is a tribute to the women of the ATA, there is not too much detail about them or the flying, and this is one reader who would have liked a little more. However, there is enough human interest in the book to keep the reader wanting to turn the page, and Baxter ties up all the loose ends very neatly, but being wartime there is sadness and heartache before the satisfying ending.
