The Postmistress
In 1940 the American radio reporter, Frankie Bard, is in London broadcasting to America on the devastation caused by bombing raids during the Blitz. She is convinced that her moving descriptions of the horror will encourage America to join with the British in defeating Hitler.
Across the Atlantic in Franklin, Cape Cod postmistress Iris James hears Frankie’s appeals and is convinced that it is only a matter of time before her peaceful little town is invaded. Her duty is to safeguard and deliver the letters entrusted to her. She is the keeper of secrets, the bearer of news, joyful and tragic. Just before Doctor William Fitch leaves Franklin to join the fighting, he entrusts Iris with a letter to be delivered to his wife if he fails to return. Emma Fitch, the doctor’s wife, also listens to Frankie’s broadcasts and worries about her husband when his letters cease to arrive.
After travelling though war-torn Europe recording the plight of refugees, Frankie returns to Cape Cod; she also has a letter. It is here that the three women’s stories converge and a dilemma arises, whether or not to deliver a certain letter.
This is a well-researched book but somehow it failed to involve me in the lives and fates of the central characters.
