The Land Girls

by Annie Wilkinson

Hull, 1943. 17-year-old Muriel Dearlove has weathered the Blitz unscathed, earning her keep in Miss Chapman's grocery shop. But with her sweetheart Bill away fighting and and her friends conscripted into the WRENs and WAAF, life has become tedious for Muriel.

Then one day an old friend returns from a stint in the Land Army. She is rosy cheeked and looks healthier than ever, thanks to the outdoor work she has been doing on Northumberland's farms, and she comes with tales of dances with the troops stationed nearby and high jinks with her fellow Land Girls.

Desperate for the chance to broaden her horizons, Muriel signs up to become a Land Girl. But getting back to the land is not all about making hay in the sunshine. Back-breaking work and rising before dawn are the least of their troubles when disagreements between town girls and locals arise, and their warden, Mrs Hubbard, is a hard-nosed slave-driver. Then Muriel meets Ernst, a German prisoner of war. And now Muriel has a choice to make. In fraternizing with the enemy, she breaks the law, but to never see Ernst again would break her heart.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

448 pages, Paperback

First published December 4, 2014

Reviews

[Shirley Revill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. Very well written and hard to put down. Recommended.

[Louise Malyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic. The characters come to life off the page. Started this morning and literally couldn’t put it down. Looking forward to reading more from this author. Brilliant read that had me captivated from the opening lines.

[Charlotte · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice light read, great storyline but could have been better executed

[DrJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes a historical saga is just what is needed for a bit of escapism. I've picked this up second hand a while ago as I loved a BBC Radio 4 drama about the land girls featuring Samantha Bond and thought this would also be interesting. I've been waiting the right mood to read it. On a sunny bank holiday weekend whilst in lockdown, I was transported to Yorkshire in 1943, and helped me be to count my blessings despite the current global pandemic. This was a very gentle, well-plotted tale of a group of land girls, their work, their friendships and their pastimes -- lots of dancing, letter writing, bicycle rides and whist! It was very clear that Wilkinson had undertaken a great deal if research, not only about the work the land girls undertook, but especially the food! Food rations, lack of victuals, occasional rare abundances are central to this novel. Her eye for detail needs applauding. The girls' characters were also all very well drawn. My main criticism is that it was a little too long, bogged down in repetitive elaborations in the middle part of the book. Too many pails of tea being carried out to the girls during their breaks! ☕ A more critical editor could have reduced it by about 30 to 50 pages and the plot would have been stronger and tighter for it.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Muriel works in a shop doling out rations during the Second World War but wants a bit more excitement, freedom and a social life so decides to become a land girl. It turns out to be more gruelling than expected with hardships and obstacles to deal with but she makes some good friends. She falls for a German prisoner of war and starts to realise that the 'enemy' are generally people who want the war as little as the British do, facing the same fears for their loved ones. But would anyone else see it that way? With a British Farmer and an American GI also vying for her affections, should she go with her head or her heart? A pleasant enough, easy read although it seems peter out towards the end without a solid resolution.

[Julie Cordiner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting topic but slow storytelling, dotting around from one strand to another without a decent progression. The ending was rushed and not satisfying enough. Good characterisation on the whole but most of the emotions were on the surface and I felt it could have gone much deeper - the ideas and themes were interesting but they weren’t as well executed as they could have been.

My main objection was that the author seems to think a Geordie girl would say ‘man’ at the end of almost every sentence, which was infuriating and spoiled the book. How did this ignorance get past an editor in a traditional publisher? It made for an unfair caricature which simply wasn’t believable.

[amy hartley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Difficult challenges face the girls who do all for their country at war. A good read.

[Sheena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I enjoyed this book I found the ending very rushed.

[Pearl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Land Girls written by Annie Wilkinson for me was a good read which as it progressed this was one read which for really improved as the book progressed as it was blessed with excellent well rounded characters who had me laughing one minute and within seconds I could have been crying as each character dealt with so many emotions flooding through them, as they tried to overcome the many problems the Second World War brought to their door each day.
The main character within this well written book for me was Muriel as she overcomes her boredom of home-life by joining the very famous group of women namely The Land Girls officially known as Woman's Land Army. Muriel arrives in the country thinking she was there to do a job through the day but she was out for a good time with the available lads from the surrounding army and air force. Not realising the life she had signed up for the duration of the war was not the dream she imagined it was going to be.
The book for me was certainly not the best book which I have read based on this time of history but I will say the slow build up was very necessary for the main storyline and for me personally it really added to the actual main read for me. I loved the characters and for me it showed the many hardships these hard working groups of girls had to face not only from the land but from those men that believed that women belonged in the kitchen.
With the women in this wonderful read the many women characters showed their many strengths of each of them, plus it showed how so many women who left home as a young teenager for the first time where really thrown into heartache and many trials and for the first time had to survive without their families.
The beauty of the land was shown through the vivid writing of Annie Wilkinson and she was an author who certainly knew her history and how farming was for the farmers back in the 1940's. For me primarily this is a book about a group of women who were dealing with the much heartache the Second World War brought to them through losses of their loved ones, while trying to serve their country through helping to feed the many people of Great Britain through helping harvest the many products of the land. Yes there were many laughs but there were heartaches and a true romance which was forbidden in its own way and sometimes the so called enemy was not always the real enemy which wished Muriel and her friend's harm, as we all know there is bad and good in both sides. One thing I will say, I hope this is not the end for Muriel and the man she fell in love with and the end for me was just not quite a great end for any book as when I reached the last page I was not satisfied with the ending and I felt there should have been another few chapters to end the story-line properly and for that reason alone I did not give the book a five star rating.

The Land Girls written by Annie Wilkinson is a good read which I did enjoy, though for me personally I would love another book based on Muriel and the man she loves.

I would like to thank Net Galley for allowing me to read this enjoyable book free of charge in exchange for an honest and frank review which this is.