When the Music Stopped

Description

London, 1912. Identical twins Lester and Lillia Holdsworth are destined for the stage. Lester is a brilliant pianist; Lillia a magnificent opera singer. But their cruel father has other ideas for their future. Lester is sent to a military academy, while Lillia must marry Lord Dalton - a self righteous, pompous friend of her father's looking for a young wife to give him an heir. Yet their plans to defy their father's wishes are put on hold when war breaks out in 1914. Suddenly Lester is flying planes for the RFC and Lillia trains as a nurse to help those wounded at home, and then abroad. For both twins, the fighting brings hardships and difficult choices. They wait in hope, like the rest of Europe, for the war to end and the music to start again.

Beryl Matthews was born in London and now lives near Farnham grew up during WWII. After a career in the inspection office of an aircraft factory, Beryl started writing fiction. Her first novel was published when she was 71.

"Beautifully written melodrama involving a monstrous father and his twin daughters who become entangled in the first world war and bth serving their country in ways that transcend the feud with their domineering father. Superb!"--Books Monthly