The Only Light in London
I am delighted to tell you about my latest novel, The Only Light in London which is out on 20 February.
It’s set in London during the Blitz and was inspired, in part, by those early days in the pandemic, when theatres were shut and it made me imagine what it must have been like during the war. All those lives, interrupted.
In the months before war breaks out, Prudence Finley (inspired by the brilliant Prunella Scales, who was likewise told that her round face and short stature meant that she didn’t have ‘leading lady potential‘) decides to take matters into her own hands and create her own amateur dramatics group. At first the only ones interested in joining Finley’s theatre group are an assorted mix of retirees, like widower and librarian Archie Greeves, Sunella Singh one of the first female surgeons from India, and former teacher, Anita Hardcastle, but when Sebastien Raphael, a handsome Jewish refugee arrives, albeit by accident, it changes everything, and not just for Finley’s heart.
As the bombs rain down, and the London streets empty, they discover what truly matters – love, friendship, and being a light for the ones who need to brave the dark.
It’s out on 20 February, and is available for pre-order here and to request on NetGalley now. Read on below for the full blurb.
I really hope you like it!
Love,
Lily x
She took him in when no one else would. She didn’t expect to fall in love…
London, 1939. When Finley offers her spare room to refugee Sebastien, she sees relief in his haunted eyes. Forced to flee the hatred in Germany, Sebastien has been desperately lonely in his adopted country. Finley lost her father in the last war and feels a stab of empathy for the pain of this thin stranger, separated from his loved ones, far away from home.
At first, Finley and Sebastien are like ships in the night, exchanging bashful goodnights in the corridor. But Finley quickly realises that Sebastien is too terrified to sleep, plagued by thoughts of his smiling little sister being snatched by soldiers. As the London sky darkens with enemy planes, he slowly opens up to her over cups of cocoa in the kitchen.
Every time Sebastien speaks to Finley, she finds herself inching closer to him, and soon love begins to grow. But when he tells her he wants to join the English army, to fight the people who have forced his family to face such horror, she must work hard to crush the devastation in her heart. She knows if she were in his shoes, she would do the same thing, and she must be brave too. She will stay in London, waiting for Sebastien, and helping other refugees like him.
As the bombs rain down, and the London streets empty, she knows she faces grave dangers. But she can’t hide away while the man she loves risks his life. She needs to do anything she can to defeat the enemy they all share. But the last war cost Finley so much. What will this one take?
A completely life-affirming and tear-jerking read about facing the darkness and despair of war together and allowing the light to creep in. Fans of The Nightingale and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society will fall in love with The Only Light in London.
