Writing
Before the Fall
2014 Mantle/Macmillan
Inspired by a true story, Before the Fall is a devastating tale of love and betrayal set in London’s East End during the First World War.
I think the war is everywhere: in the rain, in the river, in the grey air that we breathe. It is a current that runs through all of us. You can’t escape the current; either you swim with it, or you go under…
September 1916. Across the channel, the Great War rages; in London’s East End, with her husband away fighting, Hannah Loxwood struggles to hold everything together. But when Hannah takes a job in a café, she discovers a glimpse of freedom away from her needy young children, her spiteful sister and desperately ill father.
While the conflict drags on, Hannah battles with the overwhelming burden of ‘duty’. She has sacrificed so much for a husband who left her behind, a husband who may never come home. Then, when she meets Daniel – thoughtful, intelligent, quietly captivating – Hannah finds herself faced with the most dangerous of temptations…
My favourite Great War novel … incredible writing.
Joanna Cannon, author of The Trouble With Goats and Sheep.
Back to WritingUndoubtedly the best novel I have read this year, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes their historical fiction on the literary side.
The Historical Novels Review, Editors’ Choice review
