FOOTPRINTS ON THE SAND by JUDITH LENNOX

FOOTPRINTS ON THE SAND

BY JUDITH LENNOX

THE BLURB:-

The Mulgraves are a rootless, bohemian family who travel the continent, staying in crumbling Italian palazzos, Spanish villas, French vineyards- belonging nowhere, picking up friends and hangers-on as they go, and moving on when Ralph Mulgrave's latest enthusiasm dwindles. Faith, the eldest child of the family, longs for a proper home. But in 1940 Germany invades France and the Mulgraves are forced to flee to England. Faith and her brother Jake go to London, while Ralph reluctantly settles in a Norfolk cottage with the remnants of his family.

In the intense and dangerous landscape of wartime London Faith finds work as an ambulance driver, and meets once again one of Ralph's retinue from those distant and, in retrospect, golden days of childhood. Through the war and its aftermath it is Faith on whom the family relies, Faith who offers support and succour, and Faith who is constant and true in her love.

THE REALITY:-

This was the second time around for me- I first read this book in late 1998, which was a bit of a difficult year as my first job in the fashion industry wasn't all it was cracked up to be- after my then-boyfriend found a proof copy in a charity shop. It was my first sojourn into the books of Judith Lennox and, since then, I've read every novel of hers that I could get my hands on. She's up there (along with Rachel Hore, Kate Morton and Katherine Webb, to name but a few) with my favourites. Incidentally (piece of useless information coming...) the proof copy had a few mistakes but, in this 'polished' copy I came across 'missed' spelt 'misssed' on page 366. Little things please little minds and all that... It was quite fitting that I picked up this book, for 50p, in a charity shop in Great Yarmouth, as part of the novel is set nearby, in north Norfolk, so I could easily relate to it, knowing this area and maybe wanting to move there.

'Judith Lennox's writing is so keenly honest it could sever heartstrings' is one reviewer quote on the back. You ain't kidding! Right near the end, the first time I read about (spoiler alert: quit now if you don't wanna know!) Ralph's last expedition, when he gazes over the marshes and reminisces about his wife, Poppy, who died right there, and later pops into nearby Cromer, then dies of a heart attack on the way home, made me cry a river. It is odd- I was in Brighton during the first day of 1999 and I'd just finished the book. I remember thinking about how that scene moved me so. Exactly six months later, my father died of a heart attack. Did I have some kind of premonition? Maybe. All I know is, I'm feeling a bit of a premonition again, but one of change rather than death...

This is one great tome and the author certainly has a fantastic vocabulary- I learnt not only some new words but also some new expressions. With (mostly) likeable characters and a timespan stretching from just after The Great War right up until 1960, and locations both in Europe and England, there is a lot for you to get your teeth into and, even knowing the story, I re-read this novel with fervour. The places of interest came alive for me, and this author has certainly done her research and knows her stuff, as every section seemed very realistic.

The first time I read this I didn't see Jake's (spoiler alert!) continuing existence coming, so that was a nice treat in a novel whose final pages were generally, quite sad and moving. But there was a lovely turn of events for Faith, who you can't help but love, and who deserves so much more than just contentment.  I hope she got her happy ending with her Guy and would like to think that if there was ever a sequel to this novel then she'd finally realise her dream of becoming a mother. It's still possible at 40- I am living proof of that!

This one will be staying in my bookcase for a while.