The Chestnut Tree - Softcover

Bingham, Charlotte

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553812777 ISBN 13: 9780553812770

Publisher: Bantam Books (Transworld Publishers a division of the Random House Group), 2002

Synopsis

It is the summer of 1939, and like the rest of Europe, the residents of the little idyllic Sussex fishing port of Bexham are preparing for war. Beautiful but shy Judy Melton, daughter of a naval war hero, her determinedly feckless friend, the social butterfly Meggie Gore-Stewart, seemingly demure Mathilda Eastcott, and Corrie Hogarth, the tomboy daughter of the owner of the local boatyard, are all in their very individual ways determined to play an active part in the defence of their country. Knitting socks and bomb-dodging is not what they have in mind for themselves while their husbands and brothers, fathers and lovers are away fighting. But attitudes to women's roles in a warring world are difficult to change, and at first all four find it impossible to settle for the traditional kind of work that their families envisage. However, it is not just the young women of Bexham who are determined to find new roles for themselves - so are their mothers. In this manner the little Sussex village, facing as it does the coastline of Nazi-invaded France, finds its closely sewn social fabric gradually unstitch, inch by little inch. Under the tree on the green the women of Bexham meet to look back on a landscape that has changed irrevocably, and which they have in their own ways helped to alter. None of them are the same, and yet, with the men returning from war, they are expected to slip back into their simple roles of mother, daughter, grandmother. This, more than anything perhaps, is their greatest sacrifice. Having been freed by war, they have now to relinquish that very independence that gave them the liberty for which they once fought. Only the chestnut tree planted by Corrie at the edge of the village flourishes in the accepted manner, finally becoming the uniting symbol of all that has passed forever.

About this title

About the Author

Charlotte Bingham comes from a literary family - her father sold a story to H G Wells when he was only seventeen - and Charlotte wrote her autobiography, Coronet Among the Weeds, at the age of nineteen. Since then, she has written comedy and drama series, films and plays for both England and America with her husband, the actor and playwright Terence Brady. Among her most recent novels are the highly acclaimed bestsellers TO HEAR A NIGHTINGALE, THE BUSINESS, CHANGE OF HEART (winner of the 1994 Romantic Novel of the Year Award), DEBUTANTES, IN SUNSHINE OR IN SHADOW, STARDUST, NANNY, THE NIGHTINGALE SINGS, GRAND AFFAIR, LOVE SONG, THE LOVE KNOT, THE KISSING GARDEN, THE BLUE NOTE, THE SEASON, SUMMERTIME and DISTANT MUSIC.

From the Back Cover

It is the summer of 1939, and the residents of the idyllic fishing village of Bexham are preparing for war. Beautiful Judy Melton, daughter of a naval war hero, the social butterfly Meggie Gore-Stewart, seemingly demure Mathilda Eastcott, and Rusty Todd, the tomboy daughter of the owner of the local boatyard, are all determined to play an active role while their husbands and brothers, fathers and lovers are away fighting. But knitting socks and dodging bombs are not what they have in mind.

However, it is not just the young women who are determined to find new roles for themselves - so are their mothers. In this manner the little Sussex port, facing as it does the coastline of Nazi-invaded France, finds its closely sewn social fabric beginning to unstitch, inch by inch.

The women of Bexham meet under the chestnut tree on the green to look back on a landscape that has changed irrevocably, and which they have helped to alter. None of them is the same as before, and yet, as the men return from war, they are expected to slip back into their simple roles of mother, daughter, grandmother. Only the chestnut tree continues to flourish in the accepted fashion, becoming the uniting symbol of all that has passed forever.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bantam Books (Transworld Publishers a division of the Random House Group)
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0553812777
• ISBN 13: 9780553812770
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 464