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1935 – 1937: As Britain is pulled towards war, the secrets within two families threaten to tear them apart…
The Faithful
What you need to know before your trail
July 1935. In the village of Aldwick on the Sussex coast, sixteen-year-old Hazel faces a long, dull summer with just her self-centred mother Francine for company. But then Francine decamps to London with her lover Charles, Oswald Mosley’s blackshirts arrive in Aldwick, and Hazel’s summer suddenly becomes more interesting. She finds herself befriended by two very different people: Lucia, an upper-class blackshirt, passionate about the cause; and Tom, a young working-class boy, increasingly scornful of Mosley’s rhetoric. In the end, though, it is Tom who wins Hazel’s heart – and Hazel who breaks his.
Autumn 1936. Now living in London, Hazel has grown up fast over the past year. But an encounter with Tom sends her into freefall. He must never know why she cut off all contact last summer, betraying the promises they’d made. Yet Hazel isn’t the only one with secrets. Nor is she the only one with reason to keep the two of them apart . . .
Travel Guide
London 1935
From the sight of a Pears Soap billboard to the Landsbury’s Lido, this city is alive with the buzz of war and the buzz of the young people wanting a good time. They are all aware that times are changing and they want to make the most of things whilst they can. This is the city of bright lights of pavements lined with gold and promises.
Sussex – Aldwych
The farm is on the outskirts of Tangmere and Aldwick Village. There isn’t much to do in rural Sussex for a young girl but Hazel has plans. Her mother is overpowering and her only plan seems to be get her daughter to take high sea at the local posh hotel and meet a nice man.
Bognor Regis – Oswald Mosley and the Blackshirts
Nearby Bognor Regis is where all the young people of that time seem to go – From tea at the Royal Norfolk Hotel or a wander down to the Theatre Royal for the latest meeting of the Blackshirts, this is a town changing underneath the shadows of war. A sign appears on handbills around the town – British Union of Fascists, Mosely speaks! Theatre Royal, Bognor Regis. This is a town where Blackshirts appear and parade, trying to persuade people of their cause, truing to get more people over to their reasoning.
Trail Gallery
Booktrailer Review
Susan: @thebooktrailer
I’ve been waiting for Juliet’s next novel since I read Before the Fall and this was worth waiting for. She completely immerses you in the life and time of those youngsters growing up under the shadow of war and the political stance of Mosley and the blackshirts. From the Pears posters to the Pall Mall cigarettes, this is as evocative as they come.
Woven into this is a story of lost love, lies and hidden secrets. The scene is set in a little village of Aldwick in Sussex and then to London following the march of the Mosley blackshirts and their effect on the population at the time. Growing up then must have been difficult and Hazel has more to cope with than most. Sussex farming life compared to the excitement and danger of London. Morals and parental boundaries out of the window, the story weaves its way around your heartstrings and chokes you up.
The writing in this novel really is quite something – lyrical and poetic. What a tangled web we weave I said after finishing this. And it’s true. Juliet has woven something very special, evocative and moving. A step into the past of politics, young love, frustration and the need for freedom. The Faithful is a snapshot of young life, young love under the shadow of repression.
Juliet is definitely a writer to watch and her writing is very special indeed.
Booktrail Boarding Pass Information: The Faithful
Author/Guide: Juliet West Destination: Aldwick, Bognor Regis Sussex, London Departure Time: 1935 – 1937
Twitter: @JulietWest14 Web: julietwest.com/
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