If I Could Tell You

Description

A passionate love story about how the Second World War changed women's lives for ever Suffolk, 1939- Julia Compton has a beautifully well ordered life. Once a promising musician she now has a handsome husband who pays the bills, a young son she adores and a housekeeper who takes care of her comfortable home. Then on the eve of war something unexpected happens. She falls in love. The consequences are devastating. Cut off from family and friends, Julia loses everything. Penniless, denied access to her son, completely unequipped to fend for herself, she is cast adrift in wartime London with her bohemian filmmaker lover Dougie. As invasion looms and the bombs rain down, her struggle is only beginning.

Elizabeth Wilhide is the author of Ashenden, and over twenty books on interior design, decoration and architecture. Born in the United States, she has lived in Britain since 1967. She has two children and lives in south London.

Heart-wrenching . . . convincing and intoxicating . . . Julia is a very English Anna Karenina . . . An unromantic love story that feels honest and searing. * Times * What makes this story stand out is its absolute honesty. There is no false sentimentality, plenty of unflinching observation and some excellent writing . . . her detail is truly superb. Wartime Britain has been rarely so skilfully evoked. * Daily Mail * Beautifully observed and written, I loved it. * Woman and Home * Vivid, candid, engaging. So honest. * Helen Dunmore * Elizabeth Wilhide writes about universal emotions with great tenderness and imagination. * Claire Fuller * I adored this book . . . touching and very compelling. * Penny Vincenzi on Ashenden * A rich and absorbing social history * Financial Times on Ashenden * Wilhide excels at minor social details. Well-observed. * Times Literary Supplement on Ashenden *