The Post Office Girls
Beth Healey, twin sister to Ned and younger sister of Sally, works in her parents’ grocery store in Woodhampstead in Hertfordshire. It is 1915, and war is upon them. Ned has just joined up with the local regiment, and Beth is torn between staying where she is and helping with the shop or finding something else to do, ‘doing her bit’ as she puts it. Her older sister is married, and her husband has already joined the army. The local postman suggests she contact the St. Albans Post Office. She does, and to her delight is offered an interview in London followed by the offer of a job with the Royal Engineers Postal Service in London, in the new Home Depot in Regent’s Park. Now what? If she goes to London she upsets her parents. If she doesn’t go she feels useless.
This first in a new series by Poppy Cooper proves to be a great read. The characters are all fictitious but come fully alive in their surroundings at the Home Depot, repacking parcels to the boys at the front which have come adrift in the post. I knew absolutely nothing of this aspect of WWI and was totally absorbed in the story. The research by the author is excellent and the story tells itself, the pages turning of their own accord. I can’t wait to read book two. Highly recommended as a good, well-written, entertaining, and informative read.
