What do you think?
Rate this book
The Land Girls
A moving story of love, loss and survival against the odds by bestselling author of The Last of the Bonegilla Girls, Victoria Purman.
It was never just a man's war...
Melbourne,1942
War has engulfed Europe and now the Pacific, and Australia is fighting for its future. For spinster Flora Thomas, however, nothing much has changed. Tending her dull office job and beloved brother and father, as well as knitting socks for the troops, leaves her relatively content. Then one day a stranger gives her brother a white feather and Flora's anger propels her out of her safe life and into the vineyards of the idyllic Mildura countryside, a member of the Australian Women's Land Army.
There she meets Betty, a 17-year-old former shopgirl keen to do her bit for the war effort and support her beloved, and the unlikely Lilian, a well-to-do Adelaide girl fleeing her overbearing family and theworld's expectations for her. As the Land Girls embrace their new world of close-knit community and backbreaking work, they begin to find pride in their roles. More than that, they start to find a kind of liberation. For Flora, new friendships and the singular joy derived from working the land offer new meaning to her life, and even the possibility of love.
But as the clouds of war darken the horizon, and their fears for loved ones - brothers, husbands, lovers - fighting at the front grow, the Land Girls' hold on their world and their new-found freedoms is fragile. Even if they make it through unscathed, they will not come through unchanged...
It was never just a man's war...
Melbourne,1942
War has engulfed Europe and now the Pacific, and Australia is fighting for its future. For spinster Flora Thomas, however, nothing much has changed. Tending her dull office job and beloved brother and father, as well as knitting socks for the troops, leaves her relatively content. Then one day a stranger gives her brother a white feather and Flora's anger propels her out of her safe life and into the vineyards of the idyllic Mildura countryside, a member of the Australian Women's Land Army.
There she meets Betty, a 17-year-old former shopgirl keen to do her bit for the war effort and support her beloved, and the unlikely Lilian, a well-to-do Adelaide girl fleeing her overbearing family and theworld's expectations for her. As the Land Girls embrace their new world of close-knit community and backbreaking work, they begin to find pride in their roles. More than that, they start to find a kind of liberation. For Flora, new friendships and the singular joy derived from working the land offer new meaning to her life, and even the possibility of love.
But as the clouds of war darken the horizon, and their fears for loved ones - brothers, husbands, lovers - fighting at the front grow, the Land Girls' hold on their world and their new-found freedoms is fragile. Even if they make it through unscathed, they will not come through unchanged...
352 pages, Paperback
First published April 15, 2019
143 people are currently reading
1425 people want to read
About the author
Victoria Purman
39 books430 followersVictoria Purman is an Australian bestselling author.
If you want to know more about her and her books, visit www.victoriapurman.com or follow her on facebook at Victoria Purman Author or on twitter @VictoriaPurman.
If you want to know more about her and her books, visit www.victoriapurman.com or follow her on facebook at Victoria Purman Author or on twitter @VictoriaPurman.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews
April 9, 2019
By far the best book by this author I have read so far. It is a gem. The cover and the blurb are slightly misleading as they give the impression that the three main characters are friends who work as land girls together. Ms Purman has done something much cleverer than that.
The three main characters, Flora, Betty and Lily come from different parts of Australia and from very different backgrounds. The story is told from each individual's perspective, their reasons for joining the Land Army and their differing experiences in separate places all over the country. Occasionally little coincidences show how their paths almost cross until the end when they come together in one place.
Kudos to the author for the amount of research she must have done to produce this book and how she uses her knowledge to create the perfect atmosphere of Australia in the 1940s. A huge amount of information about historical events comes across in such a natural way as well as an awful lot of geography! Read this book if you want to know more about the war, about life for those who served and those who stayed home, and about farming in all Australia's wonderfully different climates!
Finally I have to admit that I cried more than once! It is a very emotional book which covers many of the different situations ordinary, everyday people had to live through and endure. A warning - the author writes an honest book. In war time people die and sometimes they are the ones you really wanted to live!
The three main characters, Flora, Betty and Lily come from different parts of Australia and from very different backgrounds. The story is told from each individual's perspective, their reasons for joining the Land Army and their differing experiences in separate places all over the country. Occasionally little coincidences show how their paths almost cross until the end when they come together in one place.
Kudos to the author for the amount of research she must have done to produce this book and how she uses her knowledge to create the perfect atmosphere of Australia in the 1940s. A huge amount of information about historical events comes across in such a natural way as well as an awful lot of geography! Read this book if you want to know more about the war, about life for those who served and those who stayed home, and about farming in all Australia's wonderfully different climates!
Finally I have to admit that I cried more than once! It is a very emotional book which covers many of the different situations ordinary, everyday people had to live through and endure. A warning - the author writes an honest book. In war time people die and sometimes they are the ones you really wanted to live!
March 12, 2024
”Who has a family untouched by sadness these days?”
When most people think of war or “war stories”, I’d guess the picture that first springs to mind is of men and soldiers. Of the logistics and ferocity of war. The actual combat side of things. Women, and their side of the story, is often forgotten. This is about them. About a group of ordinary, everyday women whose lives have been touched by war, and who decide to do something worthwhile and useful by joining the Australian Women's Land Army.
”Men to arms, women to farms.”
I have to admit to not knowing a great deal about women doing the jobs that the men and boys who had gone to war had left behind. Farms still needed to run. Crops to be picked, chooks to be fed, and cows to be milked. Remember, being WWII a lot of the work was done manually, as the technology of today didn’t exist. It was backbreaking, pure hard yakka.
The women would ”Pick fruit or dig potatoes or pluck oranges from groves.” Grape picking, cherry picking, working in flax fields. You name it, they did it. Groups of ladies travelling from property to property across cities and stateliness to keep the farms going, and the locals fed. As well as having something for the men to return to. Those who were fortunate enough to survive the war and return home. This was the work of the Land Army.
What these women did was not always appreciated, and The Land Girls were not without their naysayers. Effectively a woman was expected to only have a job until she married, and then she became a domestic goddess. The war changed all that. So the thought of these girls and women, doing what was previously considered a “man’s work” didn’t sit well with everybody. Obviously there had to be ulterior motives.
”And look at that uniform. Trying to be a soldier. The Land’s Army is not an army. It’s a gaggle of city girls looking for husbands, that’s what it is.”
(But you’re not complaining that these crafty girls looking for husbands ensured you had some food on your plate, thanks to them working the crops, are you Mr Henwood?)
The women learn so much about themselves and their abilities. They gain a sense of appreciation and self-esteem at playing their part in the war effort. Many earn more than they did in their previous employment. They make decisions for themselves about where they'll next work and have an independence they wouldn't have experienced otherwise. So much more practical and satisfying than simply knitting socks for the army.
”I answered the call, proud to be able to do my duty. I promised myself that as long as Frank is serving, I’ll serve too.” (Flora talking about her brother).
”We’ll be hot and uncomfortable, and yes, we’ll get blisters and our backs will ache. But all those adversities will make us proper Land Army Girls.”
Most of the women in The Land’s Army were from the city, and had never set foot on a farm before. Many had never lived away from home before.
"She'd learnt she could cry for two weeks straight and not run out of tears. She learnt that no matter how much your body ached, you got up again the next day to do it all over again because every girl around you was feeling the same aches and pains and smiled through it and did her best."
It was difficult for them to know what to expect, and how to deal with hard, physical labour. The aching back, the calloused hands, the sunburn, the mozzies! And the odd snake or two. But they become a tight knit group, and support and bolster each other, through uncertainty of a country at war.
”Girls, you may have left your own families, but you are a part of our family now.”
Our main protagonists are from different ages and backgrounds. Each of them joined The Land’s Army for deeply personal reasons.
Betty: The youngest of our characters, at seventeen going on eighteen. She’s tired of being a shopgirl and explaining ration coupons and lack of red lipstick to the bored female shoppers at Woolworths. When her best friend, sweetheart and neighbour Michael signs up for the war, she can’t face simply going to work and coming home, and feeling so useless.
Lily: Taken for granted for being a “beauty” and considered to be vapid and not up to much more than attending Red Cross fundraisers. When her newlywed husband joins the Airforce, she can no longer sit back and be a bored socialite, with the other boring socialites.
Flora (my favourite): Burdened by taking on the Mum role since her Mum’s passing when she just fifteen, she decides to break out and do something more fulfilling. With one brother serving, and another unable to, she feels useless in her office job, and is determined to feel part of the war effort. To feel that what she does makes a difference.
”…because no matter the differences in their manner of speaking, their social skills or their background, death, if it came, would touch them all the same.”
This book shows the strength of women and the depth of friendships made. Supporting each other through the ups and downs of uncertain times.
I enjoyed this story so much. It reminded me of the upheaval, hope and turbulence such as is described in Come In Spinner. (which is an absolute Aussie classic).I love how these books so accurately describe world changing events from a female perspective. The value of friendships. The fears for loved ones serving overseas. The wishes for a return to normality and to get their lives “started”. Not knowing what the next day would bring.
Along with the strong focus on female friendship, this book has just enough romance without being mushy, played out in such a delightful, old fashioned manner. The courting. Having a "sweetheart". Oh the letter writing! Hearts and souls spilled across the pages. Waiting for a letter to arrive. Taking the time of an evening to put pen to paper.
And the fear of being delivered a telegram, knowing that the news it contained would not be good.
"Everyone was linked to someone away in the war: brother, sister, husband, fiancé, sweetheart, neighbour, cousin, uncle, mate."
I’ve been in a bit of reading slump lately (this world!). But once I got myself reading again, I was totally immersed in 1940s Australia. I loved the characters. You can’t help but care about them and feel for what they go through. And hope that things will work out for them.
I recommend this for anyone interested in a comfortable, easy read that gives you a glimpse into a not too distant past. I know I have another of Ms.Purman’s books The Last of the Bonegilla Girls on my Kobo. I really should read it soon, as this one was such a wonderful surprise.
”It’s almost my favourite thing. Who doesn’t love a good book to carry you away into the thoughts and minds of other people? Their crimes and misdemeanours, their loves, their adventures?”
*** A huge shoutout and big thank you to to the writer Victoria Purman. So generous to offer a copy of this book for Sydneysiders to read during lockdown. It was certainly a welcome respite from the drudgery of everyday news. And to also pause and realise that most things can be worked through. We women are a resilient bunch.***
To end, I particularly loved this line from the book as it has so much truth in it.
”...the seasons change and the sun rises and sets in the sky, no matter what's going on in the hearts of those who stare up at it. Life goes on, doesn't it?”
When most people think of war or “war stories”, I’d guess the picture that first springs to mind is of men and soldiers. Of the logistics and ferocity of war. The actual combat side of things. Women, and their side of the story, is often forgotten. This is about them. About a group of ordinary, everyday women whose lives have been touched by war, and who decide to do something worthwhile and useful by joining the Australian Women's Land Army.
”Men to arms, women to farms.”
I have to admit to not knowing a great deal about women doing the jobs that the men and boys who had gone to war had left behind. Farms still needed to run. Crops to be picked, chooks to be fed, and cows to be milked. Remember, being WWII a lot of the work was done manually, as the technology of today didn’t exist. It was backbreaking, pure hard yakka.
The women would ”Pick fruit or dig potatoes or pluck oranges from groves.” Grape picking, cherry picking, working in flax fields. You name it, they did it. Groups of ladies travelling from property to property across cities and stateliness to keep the farms going, and the locals fed. As well as having something for the men to return to. Those who were fortunate enough to survive the war and return home. This was the work of the Land Army.
What these women did was not always appreciated, and The Land Girls were not without their naysayers. Effectively a woman was expected to only have a job until she married, and then she became a domestic goddess. The war changed all that. So the thought of these girls and women, doing what was previously considered a “man’s work” didn’t sit well with everybody. Obviously there had to be ulterior motives.
”And look at that uniform. Trying to be a soldier. The Land’s Army is not an army. It’s a gaggle of city girls looking for husbands, that’s what it is.”
(But you’re not complaining that these crafty girls looking for husbands ensured you had some food on your plate, thanks to them working the crops, are you Mr Henwood?)
The women learn so much about themselves and their abilities. They gain a sense of appreciation and self-esteem at playing their part in the war effort. Many earn more than they did in their previous employment. They make decisions for themselves about where they'll next work and have an independence they wouldn't have experienced otherwise. So much more practical and satisfying than simply knitting socks for the army.
”I answered the call, proud to be able to do my duty. I promised myself that as long as Frank is serving, I’ll serve too.” (Flora talking about her brother).
”We’ll be hot and uncomfortable, and yes, we’ll get blisters and our backs will ache. But all those adversities will make us proper Land Army Girls.”
Most of the women in The Land’s Army were from the city, and had never set foot on a farm before. Many had never lived away from home before.
"She'd learnt she could cry for two weeks straight and not run out of tears. She learnt that no matter how much your body ached, you got up again the next day to do it all over again because every girl around you was feeling the same aches and pains and smiled through it and did her best."
It was difficult for them to know what to expect, and how to deal with hard, physical labour. The aching back, the calloused hands, the sunburn, the mozzies! And the odd snake or two. But they become a tight knit group, and support and bolster each other, through uncertainty of a country at war.
”Girls, you may have left your own families, but you are a part of our family now.”
Our main protagonists are from different ages and backgrounds. Each of them joined The Land’s Army for deeply personal reasons.
Betty: The youngest of our characters, at seventeen going on eighteen. She’s tired of being a shopgirl and explaining ration coupons and lack of red lipstick to the bored female shoppers at Woolworths. When her best friend, sweetheart and neighbour Michael signs up for the war, she can’t face simply going to work and coming home, and feeling so useless.
Lily: Taken for granted for being a “beauty” and considered to be vapid and not up to much more than attending Red Cross fundraisers. When her newlywed husband joins the Airforce, she can no longer sit back and be a bored socialite, with the other boring socialites.
Flora (my favourite): Burdened by taking on the Mum role since her Mum’s passing when she just fifteen, she decides to break out and do something more fulfilling. With one brother serving, and another unable to, she feels useless in her office job, and is determined to feel part of the war effort. To feel that what she does makes a difference.
”…because no matter the differences in their manner of speaking, their social skills or their background, death, if it came, would touch them all the same.”
This book shows the strength of women and the depth of friendships made. Supporting each other through the ups and downs of uncertain times.
I enjoyed this story so much. It reminded me of the upheaval, hope and turbulence such as is described in Come In Spinner. (which is an absolute Aussie classic).I love how these books so accurately describe world changing events from a female perspective. The value of friendships. The fears for loved ones serving overseas. The wishes for a return to normality and to get their lives “started”. Not knowing what the next day would bring.
Along with the strong focus on female friendship, this book has just enough romance without being mushy, played out in such a delightful, old fashioned manner. The courting. Having a "sweetheart". Oh the letter writing! Hearts and souls spilled across the pages. Waiting for a letter to arrive. Taking the time of an evening to put pen to paper.
And the fear of being delivered a telegram, knowing that the news it contained would not be good.
"Everyone was linked to someone away in the war: brother, sister, husband, fiancé, sweetheart, neighbour, cousin, uncle, mate."
I’ve been in a bit of reading slump lately (this world!). But once I got myself reading again, I was totally immersed in 1940s Australia. I loved the characters. You can’t help but care about them and feel for what they go through. And hope that things will work out for them.
I recommend this for anyone interested in a comfortable, easy read that gives you a glimpse into a not too distant past. I know I have another of Ms.Purman’s books The Last of the Bonegilla Girls on my Kobo. I really should read it soon, as this one was such a wonderful surprise.
”It’s almost my favourite thing. Who doesn’t love a good book to carry you away into the thoughts and minds of other people? Their crimes and misdemeanours, their loves, their adventures?”
*** A huge shoutout and big thank you to to the writer Victoria Purman. So generous to offer a copy of this book for Sydneysiders to read during lockdown. It was certainly a welcome respite from the drudgery of everyday news. And to also pause and realise that most things can be worked through. We women are a resilient bunch.***
To end, I particularly loved this line from the book as it has so much truth in it.
”...the seasons change and the sun rises and sets in the sky, no matter what's going on in the hearts of those who stare up at it. Life goes on, doesn't it?”
June 25, 2020
“Appreciation and self-esteem are among the more pleasant things in life and I hope you are all feeling it.”
It took its sweet time from the beginning. It took literally two hours of the audiobook before they became “land girls”. I was a bit exasperated with the pacing but I persevered and I was really glad I did. Once they were all in the country, working their fabulous selves away - everything was peachy again.
After you get to know these brave women you’ll want to see how their stories unfold. I was immediately gravitated towards Flora and I found her story and her voice to be the most interesting of the three. Although with two of the main characters in the same age group it did felt repetitive between Lily’s story and Betty’s.
Audiobook superbly narrated by Jennifer Vuletic.
It took its sweet time from the beginning. It took literally two hours of the audiobook before they became “land girls”. I was a bit exasperated with the pacing but I persevered and I was really glad I did. Once they were all in the country, working their fabulous selves away - everything was peachy again.
After you get to know these brave women you’ll want to see how their stories unfold. I was immediately gravitated towards Flora and I found her story and her voice to be the most interesting of the three. Although with two of the main characters in the same age group it did felt repetitive between Lily’s story and Betty’s.
Audiobook superbly narrated by Jennifer Vuletic.
April 12, 2019
With war across Europe, Australia’s men and women were joining the cause in droves. Flora’s younger brother Frank was fighting overseas and in Melbourne, she, her father and brother Jack worried constantly. Betty from Sydney worked in Woolworths and her next door neighbour and best friend, Michael joined up, heading overseas. And Lily from Adelaide was being courted by David so when he joined the air force to fight overseas, she wanted to do her bit for the war effort.
The Australian Women’s Land Army were calling for women to help out with the jobs men had always done. Shearing, picking grapes, apples, working on farms with the animals. All three young women – Flora, Betty and Lily – separately decided to become Land Army girls for the duration of the war. And as they worked their various roles in different parts of Australia, they met other women doing the same thing; making dear friends. Along the way, there was heartache and loss, sadness and tragedy – the relentless arrival of the dreaded telegram – but there was also growing maturity, pride in their work and independence among the women.
When Flora was once again at Two Rivers near Mildura, she learned two other Land Girls were arriving to help this season with the grapes. And so she met Betty and Lily. The three girls worked hard – the work was backbreaking, and the heat was never ending – all the while wondering if the war would ever end. And whether their loved ones would come home...
The Land Girls is a poignant story filled with heartache and hope, love and loss, as well as courage, grit and determination. Aussie author Victoria Purman has once again written a well-researched historical novel which I thoroughly enjoyed. I wasn’t aware of the Australian Women’s Land Army and the role the women played during the war. Many of the farms and properties simply wouldn’t have survived without the help of those wonderful women. Highly recommended.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
The Australian Women’s Land Army were calling for women to help out with the jobs men had always done. Shearing, picking grapes, apples, working on farms with the animals. All three young women – Flora, Betty and Lily – separately decided to become Land Army girls for the duration of the war. And as they worked their various roles in different parts of Australia, they met other women doing the same thing; making dear friends. Along the way, there was heartache and loss, sadness and tragedy – the relentless arrival of the dreaded telegram – but there was also growing maturity, pride in their work and independence among the women.
When Flora was once again at Two Rivers near Mildura, she learned two other Land Girls were arriving to help this season with the grapes. And so she met Betty and Lily. The three girls worked hard – the work was backbreaking, and the heat was never ending – all the while wondering if the war would ever end. And whether their loved ones would come home...
The Land Girls is a poignant story filled with heartache and hope, love and loss, as well as courage, grit and determination. Aussie author Victoria Purman has once again written a well-researched historical novel which I thoroughly enjoyed. I wasn’t aware of the Australian Women’s Land Army and the role the women played during the war. Many of the farms and properties simply wouldn’t have survived without the help of those wonderful women. Highly recommended.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
March 30, 2021
Australia has joined the fight against Hitler and the enemy when in December 1942 Flora makes a momentous decision. With her eldest brother, Frank, away fighting and her youngest brother, Jack, unfit for military service, Flora decides to do her bit for the war effort and join the Australian Women’s Land Army. She ends up being assigned to a vineyard in Mildura. Two other women’s stories are also told. One is Betty, seventeen years old and trying to determine how she feels about next door neighbour and lifelong friend Michael. And then there is Lilian - a well do do Adelaide girl who leaves her family bemused when she joins the women’s land army. As war clouds darken, what changes will occur in the lives of these three women? What losses will they experience and what will they gain?
I loved this story from the outset. I loved the way we were introduced to and got to know each of the characters, their lives and their families. It had me thoroughly invested in each story line and emotionally involved and admit to tears more than once on the way through this story. A great depiction of this effort and commitment put in by Australian women. The author really brings the time and the characters to life.
This is the third book I have read by this author. While I enjoyed the other two, this is easily my favourite. The fact that it took me to long to read it does not reflect on the book. Just life interfering. If I could have, I would have been reading it whenever I could. A great Aussie novel and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Historical fiction at its best and a joy to read.
I loved this story from the outset. I loved the way we were introduced to and got to know each of the characters, their lives and their families. It had me thoroughly invested in each story line and emotionally involved and admit to tears more than once on the way through this story. A great depiction of this effort and commitment put in by Australian women. The author really brings the time and the characters to life.
This is the third book I have read by this author. While I enjoyed the other two, this is easily my favourite. The fact that it took me to long to read it does not reflect on the book. Just life interfering. If I could have, I would have been reading it whenever I could. A great Aussie novel and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Historical fiction at its best and a joy to read.
February 9, 2022
I loved the narrative it's full of familiar places and it was easy for me to be swept away and it's about three brave women who for very different reasons decided to join the Australian Women's Land Army and they play a vital role helping busy farmers harvest their crops
Flora Atkins lives with both her father, and her brother Jack. Flora is thirty years old, she has looked after her dad and brothers for fifteen years. She works as a clerk where she isn't appreciated, never promoted and paid a pittance. Flora decides to join the Australian Land Army, she's sent to Mildura to help Charles Nettleford harvest his sultana and currant crop. It's back breaking work, Flora struggles at first but she soon adjusts, Charles is a widower he lives with his mother, he has two sweet little girls Violet and Daisy.
Betty Brower lives in Sydney, she's seventeen and works in Woolworth's. Her best friend is her neighbor Michael, he turns eighteen before her and decides to join the army. Betty lives with her parents, her parents are teachers, she misses Michael and is very unhappy with her job. She decides that she wants to join the Women's Land Army and due to her age she needs her fathers permission. Her parents give consent, Betty struggles at first she has never been away from home before, she misses Michael and she cries every night. With support from the older girls and the local farming community she soon settles into her new job.
Lilian Thomas lives in North Adelaide it's a very posh suburb, she has no idea what she wants to do with her life, she's stuck going to red cross meetings with her mother and learning to type. Lilian lives in the shadow of her older sister Susan who's a doctor in the Australian army and stationed in Egypt. Lilian has been dating David Hogarth for six months when he decides the join the RAAF and train to be a fighter pilot. They decide to get married, much to her mother's horror before he starts basic training. When David leaves, Lilian decides the join the Women's Land Army and her parents are horrified. Lilian joins anyway, before she knows it she has her land army kit and is sent off to her first posting. They're sent to pick cherries in Norton Summit, it's a huge shock for Lilian who has never done a days work in her life! The girls earn thirty shillings a week, including food and board.
As the war drags, the lives of the three women are changed forever, constant worry about loved ones serving overseas takes it's toll, mail can take months to reach them, and they work really hard. Six days a week, in tough conditions, in the heat, and pouring rain. As time goes on some girls leave to marry or lose loved ones in the war.
The Land Girls takes you on a emotional journey, one that makes you laugh and cry. You discover the sacrifices both men and women made during WW II in Australia. I had no idea about the important role the land girls made towards the war effort and how hard they worked. I live in the Adelaide Hills, I know the area well and Victoria Purman has done a brilliant job with her research and five stars from me. I share all my reviews on Amazon Australia, NetGalley, Twitter, Goodreads, Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and my blog.
https://karrenreadsbooks.blogspot.com/
Flora Atkins lives with both her father, and her brother Jack. Flora is thirty years old, she has looked after her dad and brothers for fifteen years. She works as a clerk where she isn't appreciated, never promoted and paid a pittance. Flora decides to join the Australian Land Army, she's sent to Mildura to help Charles Nettleford harvest his sultana and currant crop. It's back breaking work, Flora struggles at first but she soon adjusts, Charles is a widower he lives with his mother, he has two sweet little girls Violet and Daisy.
Betty Brower lives in Sydney, she's seventeen and works in Woolworth's. Her best friend is her neighbor Michael, he turns eighteen before her and decides to join the army. Betty lives with her parents, her parents are teachers, she misses Michael and is very unhappy with her job. She decides that she wants to join the Women's Land Army and due to her age she needs her fathers permission. Her parents give consent, Betty struggles at first she has never been away from home before, she misses Michael and she cries every night. With support from the older girls and the local farming community she soon settles into her new job.
Lilian Thomas lives in North Adelaide it's a very posh suburb, she has no idea what she wants to do with her life, she's stuck going to red cross meetings with her mother and learning to type. Lilian lives in the shadow of her older sister Susan who's a doctor in the Australian army and stationed in Egypt. Lilian has been dating David Hogarth for six months when he decides the join the RAAF and train to be a fighter pilot. They decide to get married, much to her mother's horror before he starts basic training. When David leaves, Lilian decides the join the Women's Land Army and her parents are horrified. Lilian joins anyway, before she knows it she has her land army kit and is sent off to her first posting. They're sent to pick cherries in Norton Summit, it's a huge shock for Lilian who has never done a days work in her life! The girls earn thirty shillings a week, including food and board.
As the war drags, the lives of the three women are changed forever, constant worry about loved ones serving overseas takes it's toll, mail can take months to reach them, and they work really hard. Six days a week, in tough conditions, in the heat, and pouring rain. As time goes on some girls leave to marry or lose loved ones in the war.
The Land Girls takes you on a emotional journey, one that makes you laugh and cry. You discover the sacrifices both men and women made during WW II in Australia. I had no idea about the important role the land girls made towards the war effort and how hard they worked. I live in the Adelaide Hills, I know the area well and Victoria Purman has done a brilliant job with her research and five stars from me. I share all my reviews on Amazon Australia, NetGalley, Twitter, Goodreads, Edelweiss, Barnes & Noble and my blog.
https://karrenreadsbooks.blogspot.com/
March 24, 2019
The Land Girls is the third stand-alone novel by best-selling Australian author, Victoria Purman. It’s 1942 and, except for reserved occupations, the young men of Australia have been sucked into the war machine, serving in Europe and Asia. The void this leaves on the country’s farms is a threat to food production, so women step into the breach in the form of the Australian Women’s Land Army: the Land Girls.
The women who step up come from many different backgrounds, and have different reasons for doing so. Young Frank Atkins is serving somewhere in Asia and his brother is unable to, so thirty-year-old Flora Atkins decides to leave the office job where she’s not appreciated to contribute to the war effort.
When her best friend and next-door-neighbour, Michael follows his brother and enlists in the AIF, seventeen-year-old Betty Brower feels she can make a better contribution picking fruit that selling cosmetics in Woolies.
Lilian’s well-to-do mother believes that at eighteen she should be taking more responsibility instead of wasting time at balls and parties. She knows that in her parents’ eyes she’ll never be able to match her sister Susan, an Army doctor in Egypt, but when her sweetheart begins training as an RAAF pilot, she wants to do something more useful than rolling bandages.
The women are provided with uniforms, briefed on how to behave and what is expected of them. They are paid a generous 30 shillings a week on top of meals and board, and generally made welcome into the country towns by residents and farmers who appreciate the sacrifice they have made. This is not exclusively the case: some are unconvinced of their ability and their genuine good intentions.
Despite warnings, many of the Land Girls are dismayed by both how physically exhausting the work is and how homesick they soon are, missing far off friends and family, aching for their sweethearts and husbands fighting in the war, desperate for word of their fate.
While on the land, these women learn a great deal about crop husbandry and about themselves; they attain maturity and self-confidence, they learn to support each other and find friendship, and, occasionally, find love. Many leave with a wholly unexpected love of the countryside.
At a time when, unlike today, communications were anything but instant, when the telephone was not a ubiquitous but a rare thing, Purman demonstrates the importance of letters: letters that brought news both good and bad (although the worst news usually came by telegram); letters from distant loved ones that took weeks, nay months, to arrive, with bits redacted, but letters that reassured the receiver they were still alive, still loving and loved.
Purman’s characters are easy to love and care about. Her story has joy and heartache, but ultimately, it also has hope. Her extensive research is apparent on every page. (A good proportion of the novel is poorly formatted, but this will likely be corrected for the final version and barely affects the reading experience) An interesting and heart-warming read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harlequin Australia.
The women who step up come from many different backgrounds, and have different reasons for doing so. Young Frank Atkins is serving somewhere in Asia and his brother is unable to, so thirty-year-old Flora Atkins decides to leave the office job where she’s not appreciated to contribute to the war effort.
When her best friend and next-door-neighbour, Michael follows his brother and enlists in the AIF, seventeen-year-old Betty Brower feels she can make a better contribution picking fruit that selling cosmetics in Woolies.
Lilian’s well-to-do mother believes that at eighteen she should be taking more responsibility instead of wasting time at balls and parties. She knows that in her parents’ eyes she’ll never be able to match her sister Susan, an Army doctor in Egypt, but when her sweetheart begins training as an RAAF pilot, she wants to do something more useful than rolling bandages.
The women are provided with uniforms, briefed on how to behave and what is expected of them. They are paid a generous 30 shillings a week on top of meals and board, and generally made welcome into the country towns by residents and farmers who appreciate the sacrifice they have made. This is not exclusively the case: some are unconvinced of their ability and their genuine good intentions.
Despite warnings, many of the Land Girls are dismayed by both how physically exhausting the work is and how homesick they soon are, missing far off friends and family, aching for their sweethearts and husbands fighting in the war, desperate for word of their fate.
While on the land, these women learn a great deal about crop husbandry and about themselves; they attain maturity and self-confidence, they learn to support each other and find friendship, and, occasionally, find love. Many leave with a wholly unexpected love of the countryside.
At a time when, unlike today, communications were anything but instant, when the telephone was not a ubiquitous but a rare thing, Purman demonstrates the importance of letters: letters that brought news both good and bad (although the worst news usually came by telegram); letters from distant loved ones that took weeks, nay months, to arrive, with bits redacted, but letters that reassured the receiver they were still alive, still loving and loved.
Purman’s characters are easy to love and care about. Her story has joy and heartache, but ultimately, it also has hope. Her extensive research is apparent on every page. (A good proportion of the novel is poorly formatted, but this will likely be corrected for the final version and barely affects the reading experience) An interesting and heart-warming read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harlequin Australia.
January 5, 2021
The Land Girls
This was the most beautifully written and emotional piece of Australian historical fiction.
Approx 6,000 women served in the Australian Womens Land Army between 1942 and the end of the war. With so many of the men off to war, farmers were crying out for girls to go to the country to help do the work that the men used to do.
These courageous women left their comfy everyday lives in the city to take up demanding physical work in farms and orchards. This story is viewed through the eyes of three very different women, Flora Atkins a thirty year old spinster, Betty Brower a young seventeen year old shop assistant and Lilian Thomas a rich Adelaide girl.
The story is filled with familiar places in Adelaide and Melbourne which was lovely. This was a compelling read and I actually learnt about a part of Australian history I wasn’t aware of.
I recommend this read for the historical significance and the feeling it gives the reader to feel proud to be an Australian.
This was the most beautifully written and emotional piece of Australian historical fiction.
Approx 6,000 women served in the Australian Womens Land Army between 1942 and the end of the war. With so many of the men off to war, farmers were crying out for girls to go to the country to help do the work that the men used to do.
These courageous women left their comfy everyday lives in the city to take up demanding physical work in farms and orchards. This story is viewed through the eyes of three very different women, Flora Atkins a thirty year old spinster, Betty Brower a young seventeen year old shop assistant and Lilian Thomas a rich Adelaide girl.
The story is filled with familiar places in Adelaide and Melbourne which was lovely. This was a compelling read and I actually learnt about a part of Australian history I wasn’t aware of.
I recommend this read for the historical significance and the feeling it gives the reader to feel proud to be an Australian.
May 21, 2019
In Victoria Purman’s historical fiction novel, The Land Girls, It’s 1942 and World War II has spread from Europe across the Pacific. As fathers, brothers, husbands and sons fight on the frontlines against the Germans, Italians and Japanese, the women left behind are asked to do more than just tend their victory gardens, knit socks, and roll bandages. While some women heed the call and join auxiliary services like the WRANS or the WAAF, or take up positions in factories and shipyards, workers are also desperately needed to ensure Australia’s agricultural industry doesn’t collapse and thus, The Australian Women’s Land Army was founded.
Flora, a 30 year old under-appreciated secretary, volunteers because while one of her brothers is serving overseas, the other cannot, and she is determined that no one will be able to accuse their family of not doing enough.
Betty, not quite 18, leaves her job as a Woolworth’s counter girl when her best friend, Michael, enlists, wanting to prove that she too can make a difference beyond selling cosmetics.
Lily chooses to join the Land Girls when her new husband must report for duty to the Airforce the day after their wedding, despite the displeasure of her ‘society’ parents who would prefer their daughter assist the war effort in a more seemly manner.
With warmth, humour and honesty, The Land Girls follows the journey of these three women from when, for meals, board, a brand new uniform, and thirty shillings a week, they are given their first assignments. It explores not only the challenges the women are faced with as they work long hours, largely unaccustomed to such intense physical labour, in unfamiliar surroundings with strangers, but also the emotional challenges of being separated from family, and their fears for their loved ones serving overseas. There are gains and losses, joy and heartbreak. All three of these women will be changed by their experiences as Land Girls, and the vagaries of war.
Well researched, The Land Girls is a wonderful tribute to the 6000 women who participated in the war effort as a member of The Australian Women’s Land Army between 1942 and 1945. It shamefully took more than fifty years for the Australian government to recognise the value of their contribution. I’m thankful Victoria Purman has shone a light on this admirable facet of history.
The Land Girls is a charming, edifying and poignant novel of Australian women in wartime and the important role they played on the home front, a story of resilience, tragedy and hope.
Flora, a 30 year old under-appreciated secretary, volunteers because while one of her brothers is serving overseas, the other cannot, and she is determined that no one will be able to accuse their family of not doing enough.
Betty, not quite 18, leaves her job as a Woolworth’s counter girl when her best friend, Michael, enlists, wanting to prove that she too can make a difference beyond selling cosmetics.
Lily chooses to join the Land Girls when her new husband must report for duty to the Airforce the day after their wedding, despite the displeasure of her ‘society’ parents who would prefer their daughter assist the war effort in a more seemly manner.
With warmth, humour and honesty, The Land Girls follows the journey of these three women from when, for meals, board, a brand new uniform, and thirty shillings a week, they are given their first assignments. It explores not only the challenges the women are faced with as they work long hours, largely unaccustomed to such intense physical labour, in unfamiliar surroundings with strangers, but also the emotional challenges of being separated from family, and their fears for their loved ones serving overseas. There are gains and losses, joy and heartbreak. All three of these women will be changed by their experiences as Land Girls, and the vagaries of war.
Well researched, The Land Girls is a wonderful tribute to the 6000 women who participated in the war effort as a member of The Australian Women’s Land Army between 1942 and 1945. It shamefully took more than fifty years for the Australian government to recognise the value of their contribution. I’m thankful Victoria Purman has shone a light on this admirable facet of history.
The Land Girls is a charming, edifying and poignant novel of Australian women in wartime and the important role they played on the home front, a story of resilience, tragedy and hope.
April 15, 2019
Everytime Victoria Purman releases a new novel, I know I'm going to find great characters; with her historical novels, I know I'm going to learn about a part of Australian history that I had very little knowledge of before picking up her book. In The Land Girls, she draws on the experiences of women from The Women's Land Army as well as those left behind to do the jobs the men have left when they joined the armed forces during WWII, to weave an emotional tale of love, loss and courage.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and learning about this important part of our history. There are three main female charatcers whose lives we follow, Flora, Lily and Betty, I loved each one of them, working with them on the farms, sharing their losses and heartbreak all the while discovering so much about themselves.
My favourite of these characters though, was Flora. I really engaged with her, whether it was because she was older and still searching for her place, her loyalty to her family and those she called friends, or just her wonderful character, I loved the journey that the Land Army took her on. Flora meets Charles during her first posting as a Land Girl and I loved watching the relationship between the two of them grow and change them. I held so much hope for the two of them and the future.
There were many emotional moments throughout this story, as I'm sure you can imagine, happy as well as sad ones.
The work these women did during the war was inspiring and shows just what people can achieve. Without these women filling the places of men, most farms and factories would have gone out of business. I definitely recommend this wonderful novel.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for a digital copy of this novel in return for an honest review.
I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and learning about this important part of our history. There are three main female charatcers whose lives we follow, Flora, Lily and Betty, I loved each one of them, working with them on the farms, sharing their losses and heartbreak all the while discovering so much about themselves.
My favourite of these characters though, was Flora. I really engaged with her, whether it was because she was older and still searching for her place, her loyalty to her family and those she called friends, or just her wonderful character, I loved the journey that the Land Army took her on. Flora meets Charles during her first posting as a Land Girl and I loved watching the relationship between the two of them grow and change them. I held so much hope for the two of them and the future.
There were many emotional moments throughout this story, as I'm sure you can imagine, happy as well as sad ones.
The work these women did during the war was inspiring and shows just what people can achieve. Without these women filling the places of men, most farms and factories would have gone out of business. I definitely recommend this wonderful novel.
Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for a digital copy of this novel in return for an honest review.
March 29, 2019
‘The war had touched everyone, changed everything.’
Australia, 1942. War has engulfed both Europe and the Pacific. In Australia, there’s a shortage of male farm labour because many men, deemed not to be in essential industries have joined the armed forces. In this novel, we meet three very different women who join the Australian Women’s Land Army, doing their bit for the war effort.
Flora Atkins is thirty. She lives with her father and her brother Jack and works in an office. Her other brother Harry is serving overseas. Jack is deemed medically unfit for military service, but this doesn’t stop a stranger from giving Jack a white feather. Flora is angered by this and decides to leave her office job and join the Australian Women’s Land Army. Posted to Mildura, Flora meets Betty Brower, a seventeen-year-old former Woolworths shop assistant. Betty, with her parents’ permission, has joined because her best friend and neighbour Michael has joined the Australian Army. The third woman is Lilian Thomas, a well-to-do young woman from Adelaide, who is trying to find her own place in the world, free from the burden of her family’s expectations.
This novel follows the story of each of the three women: their achievements, heartbreaks and hopes. While I found myself most drawn to Flora’s story, I became caught up in the lives of all three. Each of the women will take pride in her new role, each will develop new friendships, new strengths and a broader view of the world. Each will be changed in some way by her experiences: there’s both happiness and heartbreak in these pages.
To write more might ruin the joy of a first-time read.
If you are interested in life in the Australian Women’s Land Army and the vital role it played in Australia during World War II, you may enjoy this novel as much as I did.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Australia, 1942. War has engulfed both Europe and the Pacific. In Australia, there’s a shortage of male farm labour because many men, deemed not to be in essential industries have joined the armed forces. In this novel, we meet three very different women who join the Australian Women’s Land Army, doing their bit for the war effort.
Flora Atkins is thirty. She lives with her father and her brother Jack and works in an office. Her other brother Harry is serving overseas. Jack is deemed medically unfit for military service, but this doesn’t stop a stranger from giving Jack a white feather. Flora is angered by this and decides to leave her office job and join the Australian Women’s Land Army. Posted to Mildura, Flora meets Betty Brower, a seventeen-year-old former Woolworths shop assistant. Betty, with her parents’ permission, has joined because her best friend and neighbour Michael has joined the Australian Army. The third woman is Lilian Thomas, a well-to-do young woman from Adelaide, who is trying to find her own place in the world, free from the burden of her family’s expectations.
This novel follows the story of each of the three women: their achievements, heartbreaks and hopes. While I found myself most drawn to Flora’s story, I became caught up in the lives of all three. Each of the women will take pride in her new role, each will develop new friendships, new strengths and a broader view of the world. Each will be changed in some way by her experiences: there’s both happiness and heartbreak in these pages.
To write more might ruin the joy of a first-time read.
If you are interested in life in the Australian Women’s Land Army and the vital role it played in Australia during World War II, you may enjoy this novel as much as I did.
Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
August 19, 2019
I am not sure what to say, other than this is a must read, Victoria Purman has done it again with an amazing story that took me back to World War 2 and let me get to know three wonderful woman who did what they could back home while their men were away, make yourself comfy for this one and have some tissues at the ready.
Flora comes from Melbourne and is the oldest of them and a spinster, she works at an office, looks after her father and brother and her youngest brother is already away fighting, but something happens and Flora joins up with the Land Army.
Betty is the youngest of the girls at seventeen, she lives in Sydney with her parents and works at Woolworths, her best friend is her next door neighbour Michael, when Michael turns eighteen he signs up and Betty decides to do her bit with the Land Army.
Lilian comes from a well to do family in Adelaide, her sister is a Doctor in the army tending soldiers in the Middle East, when she marries her boyfriend David just before he joins up and leaves to train to be a pilot, Lilian joins up as well.
Flora, Betty and Lilian learn a lot in their years in the Land Army, from picking cherries and grapes to harvesting flax and digging up potatoes, but what they learn more is friendship and compassion as they worry about their family and friends fighting overseas. Their years in the Land Army change them all, so much has happened to so many people, there is death and sadness but there is also love and hope for the future that bring them together.
This is a beautifully written story that was obviously so well researched, I cried bucket loads of tears and I smiled as well as I journeyed with Flora, Betty and Lilian and the many other girls we got to know, Kit and Gwen, these woman worked so hard to help Australia and the fighting men it makes me so proud of them. This is a book I highly recommend a must read, and one that will stay with me for a long time to come, thank you MS Purman.
Flora comes from Melbourne and is the oldest of them and a spinster, she works at an office, looks after her father and brother and her youngest brother is already away fighting, but something happens and Flora joins up with the Land Army.
Betty is the youngest of the girls at seventeen, she lives in Sydney with her parents and works at Woolworths, her best friend is her next door neighbour Michael, when Michael turns eighteen he signs up and Betty decides to do her bit with the Land Army.
Lilian comes from a well to do family in Adelaide, her sister is a Doctor in the army tending soldiers in the Middle East, when she marries her boyfriend David just before he joins up and leaves to train to be a pilot, Lilian joins up as well.
Flora, Betty and Lilian learn a lot in their years in the Land Army, from picking cherries and grapes to harvesting flax and digging up potatoes, but what they learn more is friendship and compassion as they worry about their family and friends fighting overseas. Their years in the Land Army change them all, so much has happened to so many people, there is death and sadness but there is also love and hope for the future that bring them together.
This is a beautifully written story that was obviously so well researched, I cried bucket loads of tears and I smiled as well as I journeyed with Flora, Betty and Lilian and the many other girls we got to know, Kit and Gwen, these woman worked so hard to help Australia and the fighting men it makes me so proud of them. This is a book I highly recommend a must read, and one that will stay with me for a long time to come, thank you MS Purman.
March 20, 2019
The land girls gives you a glimpse of what life was like for those who did not go to war. Three very different girls (women) answer the call to join the Australian Women's Land army, each wanting to contribute to the war effort. We read about each of the women individually, why they joined the Land Army and how their lives changed, before the author brings them together. The story felt very real and I enjoyed reading about their experiences, both happy and sad.
April 12, 2019
I have read a few novels now about the Women’s Land Army, but each of these have been set in England, never Australia, so it was a real pleasure to pick up this latest release by Victoria Purman and read all about the marvellous efforts our women made in order to keep our country ticking over while WWII was raging throughout Europe and the Pacific. Australia had quite a substantial Women’s Land Army:
‘Around 6,000 women served in the Australian Women’s Land Army between 1942 and the end of the war. These women left the cities and moved into the country, to farms and orchards, to do the work once done by men. Many stayed on for the duration of the war. It was disbanded on the 31st December, 1945, and women returned to their old lives. After the war, their work and sacrifices were largely ignored and forgotten but they continued to campaign long and hard to have their work recognised. They marched on Anzac Day for the first time in 1991, and in 1994 became eligible for the Civilian Service Medal 1939–1945. On the 20th August, 2012, at a reception at Parliament House, Canberra, the then Prime Minister Julia Gillard presented each surviving member with a certificate and a commemorative brooch to wear. Her comments on the day outlined just how much they had contributed to the war effort.’ – Author notes.
The Land Girls is just the type of historical fiction I enjoy the most. It’s a quiet read in the sense that it’s driven more by the events of history than by a fast paced action filled plot. It’s very much a character study on the three women that steer the narrative, and through walking in their shoes, we are treated to a snapshot of Australian society during the WWII years, in both the city and the country. There is a wealth of detail woven into this novel, it really is a treasure trove, and in less skilled writerly hands, it may have been too much like a history lesson, but with Victoria Purman shaping the story, it was perfectly balanced. There is such a sense of atmosphere to this novel, the reader is really able to get a handle on what life in Australia was like back then. The politeness and reserve that was still in place was captured vividly through the relationships depicted, both working and private. I felt like I was reading about an Australia that was on the cusp of change. So much tragedy had come to pass, with both world wars within a generation of each other, and there was a sense that the idyllic lifestyle that had up until then been enjoyed was rapidly coming to a close. I loved the detail of everything the women did while in the land army. They did all sorts of work, from tending crops to working with livestock and all kinds of factory work – everything. And they travelled great distances to do so, many moving around to follow the crop seasons. It was a remarkable effort, and many women did it for years. I daresay it would have been quite difficult for some to go back to the domestic sphere once the war was over.
‘That August in Batlow, it was colder than July. The apple-tree pruning continued. The Land Army girls’ routine of Friday night dances and Saturday nights at the pictures continued through those winter months, small windows of respite from the hard, physical work and the incessant cold. They’d sung along to Babes on Broadway with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland and been scared out of their wits by Apache Trail starring Donna Reed. When the newsreel relayed the latest news from the war, of further Allied gains in France and American bombing in the Philippines, everyone in the theatre stood and sang ‘God Save The King’ and cheered. The girls had marched out of the cinema exhilarated, singing the Andrews Sisters’ ‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy’ until they forgot the lyrics and botched the harmonies but they didn’t care as they walked the two-and-a-half miles home in the cold.’
There is love and laughter within this novel, pain and grief as well; all coloured with so much realism. Victoria Purman just seems to be going from strength to strength with her historical fiction. Highly recommended for readers who are interested in history with a focus on Australian women.
Thanks is extended to HarperCollins Publishers Australia via NetGalley for providing me with a copy of The Land Girls for review.
‘Around 6,000 women served in the Australian Women’s Land Army between 1942 and the end of the war. These women left the cities and moved into the country, to farms and orchards, to do the work once done by men. Many stayed on for the duration of the war. It was disbanded on the 31st December, 1945, and women returned to their old lives. After the war, their work and sacrifices were largely ignored and forgotten but they continued to campaign long and hard to have their work recognised. They marched on Anzac Day for the first time in 1991, and in 1994 became eligible for the Civilian Service Medal 1939–1945. On the 20th August, 2012, at a reception at Parliament House, Canberra, the then Prime Minister Julia Gillard presented each surviving member with a certificate and a commemorative brooch to wear. Her comments on the day outlined just how much they had contributed to the war effort.’ – Author notes.
The Land Girls is just the type of historical fiction I enjoy the most. It’s a quiet read in the sense that it’s driven more by the events of history than by a fast paced action filled plot. It’s very much a character study on the three women that steer the narrative, and through walking in their shoes, we are treated to a snapshot of Australian society during the WWII years, in both the city and the country. There is a wealth of detail woven into this novel, it really is a treasure trove, and in less skilled writerly hands, it may have been too much like a history lesson, but with Victoria Purman shaping the story, it was perfectly balanced. There is such a sense of atmosphere to this novel, the reader is really able to get a handle on what life in Australia was like back then. The politeness and reserve that was still in place was captured vividly through the relationships depicted, both working and private. I felt like I was reading about an Australia that was on the cusp of change. So much tragedy had come to pass, with both world wars within a generation of each other, and there was a sense that the idyllic lifestyle that had up until then been enjoyed was rapidly coming to a close. I loved the detail of everything the women did while in the land army. They did all sorts of work, from tending crops to working with livestock and all kinds of factory work – everything. And they travelled great distances to do so, many moving around to follow the crop seasons. It was a remarkable effort, and many women did it for years. I daresay it would have been quite difficult for some to go back to the domestic sphere once the war was over.
‘That August in Batlow, it was colder than July. The apple-tree pruning continued. The Land Army girls’ routine of Friday night dances and Saturday nights at the pictures continued through those winter months, small windows of respite from the hard, physical work and the incessant cold. They’d sung along to Babes on Broadway with Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland and been scared out of their wits by Apache Trail starring Donna Reed. When the newsreel relayed the latest news from the war, of further Allied gains in France and American bombing in the Philippines, everyone in the theatre stood and sang ‘God Save The King’ and cheered. The girls had marched out of the cinema exhilarated, singing the Andrews Sisters’ ‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy’ until they forgot the lyrics and botched the harmonies but they didn’t care as they walked the two-and-a-half miles home in the cold.’
There is love and laughter within this novel, pain and grief as well; all coloured with so much realism. Victoria Purman just seems to be going from strength to strength with her historical fiction. Highly recommended for readers who are interested in history with a focus on Australian women.
Thanks is extended to HarperCollins Publishers Australia via NetGalley for providing me with a copy of The Land Girls for review.
March 14, 2019
Copy received via Netgalley for an honest review
I can remember my nan talking about the Land Army and the WAAFs when I was a child, and I thought of her (god bless her soul) as I was reading The Land Girls.
I am on a real historical kick at the moment, and I have been reading a lot of stories set in WW2 to get my fix.
The Land Girls, based on the the Australian Women's Land Army is a beautiful, but at times heartbreaking story of the women who went and worked the land while the men were away during WW2.
It is a beautiful story of strength, of friendship, of the family we make, who are not our blood family.
I may have shed a tear or two as our lovely ladies, from all walks of life, forge such special relationships.
I did the tree change myself from the city to the country a while ago now, so I could feel some of their struggles (though I never had it as bad as these girls did!) especially with isolation.
Once I got into this story, I did not want to put it down. Heartfelt, heartbreaking, but also full of hope and wonder, I felt this story with my whole body.
This was my first Victoria Purman story, but it won't be my last.
I can remember my nan talking about the Land Army and the WAAFs when I was a child, and I thought of her (god bless her soul) as I was reading The Land Girls.
I am on a real historical kick at the moment, and I have been reading a lot of stories set in WW2 to get my fix.
The Land Girls, based on the the Australian Women's Land Army is a beautiful, but at times heartbreaking story of the women who went and worked the land while the men were away during WW2.
It is a beautiful story of strength, of friendship, of the family we make, who are not our blood family.
I may have shed a tear or two as our lovely ladies, from all walks of life, forge such special relationships.
I did the tree change myself from the city to the country a while ago now, so I could feel some of their struggles (though I never had it as bad as these girls did!) especially with isolation.
Once I got into this story, I did not want to put it down. Heartfelt, heartbreaking, but also full of hope and wonder, I felt this story with my whole body.
This was my first Victoria Purman story, but it won't be my last.
April 7, 2022
This was a fabulously written piece of historical fiction about the Australian Land Army which had 6000 women serving in it from 1942 until the end of WW2. I knew very little about the involvement of women in the army during the war, and really glad that I got to learn so much about the amazing contribution they made during WW2. The story takes us through the lives of 3 women in particular who joined thousands of land girls serving our country here in Australia. These women left their comfortable lives and sacrificed so much and worked so hard in a variety of jobs where needed on farms all over our country during the war. They chose to do this because so many men were serving in the army overseas at the time and this was their way of contributing back home.
I admire and greatly appreciate all their unselfish efforts and was very emotionally involved from the 1st page and had trouble putting this book down.
I admire and greatly appreciate all their unselfish efforts and was very emotionally involved from the 1st page and had trouble putting this book down.
December 4, 2019
Loved this book! Three women from three very different backgrounds during WWII provide the scaffolding for an exploration of the Land Army and the amazing contribution it made to the war effort, and to the liberation of women from societal constructs in the 1940s. I loved each of their stories, but fell hard for Flora. Perhaps because her barriers were in her mind more so than set by society. Maybe because I'm not a teenager. Either way, I enjoyed every moment of this book, and was devastated when it finished. I wanted to know what happened next for each of these women - with no detail left to the imagination!
July 7, 2019
One of those books that you’re sorry to see the end! I laughed and I cried and learned a lot of what this army of women did during the war.
April 24, 2019
Three women join the women's land army in Australia during World War 2. The Land Girls introduces the reader to them and by the end of the book, each woman found a place in my heart and my very sincere admiration.
Flora is thirtyish and from Melbourne, she lives with her Dad, a brother who can't go to war (Jack) and Frank who is fighting in the war overseas and they haven't heard from him. A white feather given to her brother Jack on the street one day, decides Flora to join the Land Girls - her first assignment is picking grapes - hard work but she meets up with a delightful family. Slowly a relationship develops between Flora and Charles the owner of the farm but she is only there for a few weeks.
Lily is 18 from an Adelaide wealthy family, she has a sister a doctor working in the war overseas but Lily hasn't found her own niche. She finds it hard to even learn shorthand and typing. She is in love with David who is going off to war. Taking up her courage she too joins the land girls - unusual for some one from such a family. She is sent out to a place north of Adelaide to pick cherries.
Betty is almost 18, friends all her life with Michael next door, she is an only child and she too decides to join Land Girls when Michael joins up in 1942 when he turns 18. She starts this life picking grapes in Mildura, many miles north of Melbourne, on the edge of the outback. She is among 20 other girls. It's hard work and Betty is homesick. One Sunday she meets Flora who gives her words of encouragement, that really help.
I loved the Australian setting, the realistic painting of what it was like to live in that time during war. The women who joined the land army worked hard, and it changed them in so many ways. How worrying though for them for the loved ones who fought overseas and often when bad news came, so heart breaking
.Victoria Purman had me fully invested in each woman, each story so real. I loved the way the woman put their hands up and contributed. The way they supported each other and developed such important and memorable friendships.
Flora is thirtyish and from Melbourne, she lives with her Dad, a brother who can't go to war (Jack) and Frank who is fighting in the war overseas and they haven't heard from him. A white feather given to her brother Jack on the street one day, decides Flora to join the Land Girls - her first assignment is picking grapes - hard work but she meets up with a delightful family. Slowly a relationship develops between Flora and Charles the owner of the farm but she is only there for a few weeks.
Lily is 18 from an Adelaide wealthy family, she has a sister a doctor working in the war overseas but Lily hasn't found her own niche. She finds it hard to even learn shorthand and typing. She is in love with David who is going off to war. Taking up her courage she too joins the land girls - unusual for some one from such a family. She is sent out to a place north of Adelaide to pick cherries.
Betty is almost 18, friends all her life with Michael next door, she is an only child and she too decides to join Land Girls when Michael joins up in 1942 when he turns 18. She starts this life picking grapes in Mildura, many miles north of Melbourne, on the edge of the outback. She is among 20 other girls. It's hard work and Betty is homesick. One Sunday she meets Flora who gives her words of encouragement, that really help.
I loved the Australian setting, the realistic painting of what it was like to live in that time during war. The women who joined the land army worked hard, and it changed them in so many ways. How worrying though for them for the loved ones who fought overseas and often when bad news came, so heart breaking
.Victoria Purman had me fully invested in each woman, each story so real. I loved the way the woman put their hands up and contributed. The way they supported each other and developed such important and memorable friendships.
December 30, 2020
I loved reading this and learning more about those legendary Land Girls who worked so hard to get the harvests in during WWII. They fed not only Australia but our troops. Respect! I was surprised to read at the end how long it actually took for The Australian Women's Land Army to get formal recognition - 2012! Kudos to our then PM Julia Gillard, and for the amazing speech she gave at the formal ceremony, written in full at the end of the book. Everyone knows someone who suffered a casualty in their family during war years, my family as well, and everyone knows someone who served and who came back changed, my family as well. This book is fiction, but is tender and moving, recreating how difficult it was for those left behind when the men went off to war. Waiting, doing their bit for the war effort, and worrying all the while. Thankyou Victoria Purman.
June 24, 2022
Dear Victoria,
Hello again!! Find myself completely absorbed in another of one your stories. This time it was the delightful 'The Land Girls'.
It was a piece of Australian history that I wasn't overly aware of, I understood that women stepped into many positions during war to fill the void of the young men who enlisted and fought but it was a very generalised understanding.
I really enjoyed stepping into the lives of Flora, Betty and Lillian and the different postings they were sent too. I enjoyed the idyllic idea of life on the land although I understand it's a lot harder as witnessed through my grandparents dairy farm.
I cannot wait to sink my teeth into the next story from you, and see who the next strong female lead is and the next bit of Australian history I will also discover and learn about.
From this nature lover and history nerd...
Natty
Hello again!! Find myself completely absorbed in another of one your stories. This time it was the delightful 'The Land Girls'.
It was a piece of Australian history that I wasn't overly aware of, I understood that women stepped into many positions during war to fill the void of the young men who enlisted and fought but it was a very generalised understanding.
I really enjoyed stepping into the lives of Flora, Betty and Lillian and the different postings they were sent too. I enjoyed the idyllic idea of life on the land although I understand it's a lot harder as witnessed through my grandparents dairy farm.
I cannot wait to sink my teeth into the next story from you, and see who the next strong female lead is and the next bit of Australian history I will also discover and learn about.
From this nature lover and history nerd...
Natty
August 29, 2019
A very moving story.
This is a well written and researched story of the Australian Women's Land Army. It focuses on three girls, all from different backgrounds; one is from Melbourne, one from Sydney and the other from Adelaide.
They are all sent to different types of farms to perform the work usually done by men who are away fighting in World War II.
As a South Australian, I know the areas referred to in this state as well as some of the places in Victoria. The author has researched these areas well, and her attention to detail is very credible.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have no hesitation in recommending this to anyone who has a love of World War II stories.
This is a well written and researched story of the Australian Women's Land Army. It focuses on three girls, all from different backgrounds; one is from Melbourne, one from Sydney and the other from Adelaide.
They are all sent to different types of farms to perform the work usually done by men who are away fighting in World War II.
As a South Australian, I know the areas referred to in this state as well as some of the places in Victoria. The author has researched these areas well, and her attention to detail is very credible.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and have no hesitation in recommending this to anyone who has a love of World War II stories.
January 22, 2020
An easy read that reiterates the importance of female friendships. You can survive anything with a good girlfriend by your side, even the devastation of war.
December 26, 2020
I really enjoyed this book. I really couldn’t put it down and read most of it in one siting.
The book is about three women from different backgrounds that join the Australian Women’s Land Army during the Second World War. For those who don’t know about the Land Army, women were asked to do agricultural jobs vacated by men heading to war. Without their work those industries would have stalled and the country would have starved. It was hard work that was under appreciated for a long time. These women did not march on ANZAC Day until 1991 and it wasn’t until 1994 that they became eligible for the Civilian Service Medal.
A fictionalised version of real stories provided by women in the Land Army, this book really does give an insight into the different types of work they did and what their conditions were like. It even mentions some of the distrust locals had of women coming into their community to work. This is a human story, one of women trying to do the best they can to keep the farms going, while worrying about their loved ones away at war.
I highly recommend this book for others. It was a great read and was quite educational.
The book is about three women from different backgrounds that join the Australian Women’s Land Army during the Second World War. For those who don’t know about the Land Army, women were asked to do agricultural jobs vacated by men heading to war. Without their work those industries would have stalled and the country would have starved. It was hard work that was under appreciated for a long time. These women did not march on ANZAC Day until 1991 and it wasn’t until 1994 that they became eligible for the Civilian Service Medal.
A fictionalised version of real stories provided by women in the Land Army, this book really does give an insight into the different types of work they did and what their conditions were like. It even mentions some of the distrust locals had of women coming into their community to work. This is a human story, one of women trying to do the best they can to keep the farms going, while worrying about their loved ones away at war.
I highly recommend this book for others. It was a great read and was quite educational.
December 18, 2019
I seem to be on "a women's perspective of war" reading kick! As it says on the front cover "It was never just a man's war" pretty much applies to all wars.
This had a little bit of a slow start, seemed like it needed a good edit. When the 3 main characters started working as "Land Girls" it really picked up. I became completely invested in the characters, had to know how it all worked out for them and I couldn't put it down.
I knew something about "The Land Girls", thinking of them as just another part of Australian history. Later on in the 1990s, I vaguely remember our first woman PM, Julia Gillard, recognising their wartime service. The PM's speech is included in the endnotes at the back of the book.
Basically, it's well researched fiction, an engaging story, that's not too taxing on the reader.
I'd be happy to read more by this author.
This had a little bit of a slow start, seemed like it needed a good edit. When the 3 main characters started working as "Land Girls" it really picked up. I became completely invested in the characters, had to know how it all worked out for them and I couldn't put it down.
I knew something about "The Land Girls", thinking of them as just another part of Australian history. Later on in the 1990s, I vaguely remember our first woman PM, Julia Gillard, recognising their wartime service. The PM's speech is included in the endnotes at the back of the book.
Basically, it's well researched fiction, an engaging story, that's not too taxing on the reader.
I'd be happy to read more by this author.
July 12, 2019
Set in Australia, The Land Girls by Victoria Purman is a book about three women who join the Australian Women’s Land Army in WWII to do ‘their bit’ for the cause. There’s a shortage of male farm labour because many men have joined the armed forces so the land army was needed to help with the harvesting of crops. Set in an area we holidayed in last year, I loved seeing the history of the area unfold on paper. These brave women were courageous, and I loved each of their stories equally and how they came together in the last part of the book. Loved this historical, emotional and captivating read.
October 7, 2019
Land Girls is the latest historical fiction release from Australian author, Victoria Purman. It follows the highs and lows of three protagonists during the war years of 1942-1945. There is someone for every reader to connect to with as the three women, Flora Atkins, Betty Brower and Lilian Thomas, are different ages with unique personalities. They are all in the similar situation of being land girls. Before reading this, I didn’t know what a land girl was. Thanks to the beauty of historical fiction, I now know it a girl who worked on the land, such as farms, during the second world war. Australia had 6000 land girls, unrecognised for their contribution to the war until 2012. Using research and interviews, Purman investigates war, the changing roles of women, death, friendship and love in Land Girls.
At 30 years of age, Flora is a spinster. Her mother has passed away and she lives at home with her father in Melboure. Flora is the eldest of three siblings. Her middle brother, Jack suffers from a hearing loss, and he too, lives at home. Frank Atkins is the youngest sibling, off fighting the war. Flora works in an office job and her contribution to the war effort is knitting socks. When Jack receives a white feather on the street, Flora is enraged. Very much an introvert, this anger changes Flora’s life when she decides to become a land girl. Her first stop is Mildura, living and working with the Nettlefold familyon Two Rivers; Mrs Nettlefold, her son, Charles and Charles two daughters, Violet and Daisy. While farm work is a shock for this city girl, Flora is a quiet, hard worker who doesn’t believe in quitting. After her date with destiny, Flora continues to move around, including Geelong, but eventually finds herself back in Mildura. Will Frank return? Will love find Flora? Will the war change Flora?
Seventeen year old Betty hails from Sydney. Her best friend, Michael Doherty, is her neighbour and his family is Betty’s second family. From the very beginning, there was hints of a blossoming romance but everything changes when Michael enlists in the war. An only child in a well to do family, I was surprised when Betty decides to join the land girls. It is difficult for Betty’s parents, Alma and Walter, to accept this, but they have no choice. Her first stop is the Stocks property in Mildura, where she picks apples. Here, Betty, the youngest of a group of girls, becomes known as Baby Betty. Baby Betty struggles to come to terms with her new life but with the help of her friends, pulls through the hard times, coming to a stop in Two Rivers. Will Michael return from the war?
The last of the land girls is from Adelaide, 14 year old Lily. Lily comes from a wealthy family. She has a sister, Susan, ten years older, and a doctor in Egypt. Lily’s life has been planned out by her parents and she does as she is told, perhaps because she feels inferior to Susan. That means attending Miss Wards Training College For Young Business Girls, where she learns life skills such as typing. Lily is enamored by David Hogarth but he shows little interest in her, where as Tommy is sweet on Lily. Before a resolution can be made between the two young men, Lilly is sent off to become a land girl by her father. Starting off as a cherry picker, she also harvests flax in Port Noarlunga, works on a farm in Atherstone, eventually winding up in Two Rivers. Will this make or break Lily? What does the future hold for Lily?
With a blend of fact and fiction, The Land Girls is a wonderful way to learn about Australian history.
At 30 years of age, Flora is a spinster. Her mother has passed away and she lives at home with her father in Melboure. Flora is the eldest of three siblings. Her middle brother, Jack suffers from a hearing loss, and he too, lives at home. Frank Atkins is the youngest sibling, off fighting the war. Flora works in an office job and her contribution to the war effort is knitting socks. When Jack receives a white feather on the street, Flora is enraged. Very much an introvert, this anger changes Flora’s life when she decides to become a land girl. Her first stop is Mildura, living and working with the Nettlefold familyon Two Rivers; Mrs Nettlefold, her son, Charles and Charles two daughters, Violet and Daisy. While farm work is a shock for this city girl, Flora is a quiet, hard worker who doesn’t believe in quitting. After her date with destiny, Flora continues to move around, including Geelong, but eventually finds herself back in Mildura. Will Frank return? Will love find Flora? Will the war change Flora?
Seventeen year old Betty hails from Sydney. Her best friend, Michael Doherty, is her neighbour and his family is Betty’s second family. From the very beginning, there was hints of a blossoming romance but everything changes when Michael enlists in the war. An only child in a well to do family, I was surprised when Betty decides to join the land girls. It is difficult for Betty’s parents, Alma and Walter, to accept this, but they have no choice. Her first stop is the Stocks property in Mildura, where she picks apples. Here, Betty, the youngest of a group of girls, becomes known as Baby Betty. Baby Betty struggles to come to terms with her new life but with the help of her friends, pulls through the hard times, coming to a stop in Two Rivers. Will Michael return from the war?
The last of the land girls is from Adelaide, 14 year old Lily. Lily comes from a wealthy family. She has a sister, Susan, ten years older, and a doctor in Egypt. Lily’s life has been planned out by her parents and she does as she is told, perhaps because she feels inferior to Susan. That means attending Miss Wards Training College For Young Business Girls, where she learns life skills such as typing. Lily is enamored by David Hogarth but he shows little interest in her, where as Tommy is sweet on Lily. Before a resolution can be made between the two young men, Lilly is sent off to become a land girl by her father. Starting off as a cherry picker, she also harvests flax in Port Noarlunga, works on a farm in Atherstone, eventually winding up in Two Rivers. Will this make or break Lily? What does the future hold for Lily?
With a blend of fact and fiction, The Land Girls is a wonderful way to learn about Australian history.
October 12, 2025
I loved this read, it ticked all the boxes and when I started to read I couldn't put it down.
When the war came to Australian shores the land down under lost its innocence. War had belonged to Europe and Britain, raging for years and while Aussie service personnel of all persuasions had left their country to fight in that war, the thought of it landing on Australian shores was another thing altogether.
The author has the reader look at three different young women, from different backgrounds and environments. Flora Thomas is a young woman that by the standards of the day was considered “a spinster”. Flora has taken on the role of mother since the death of their mother. One day her brother who is medically unfit for war service is handed a white feather (I thought this was mainly WW1 in Britain), however, so incensed by this, Flora decides to sign up for the Land Army.
Betty is a shop girl for Woolworths, a job highly sought after in this era, personalised service was important. However, she is tired of the complaints and after an evacuation drill that took place for which she found quite exciting, returning to work and listening to the moaning women unable to get red lipstick like the American movie stars, she decides that with the government's advertising for the Land Army and to support her boyfriend, with a bit of arm twisting needed for her parents as she is only seventeen and needing their approval, Betty signs up to be a part of the Land Army.
Lillian, a girl from the upper echelons of Adelaide society decides to sign up also much to the distaste of her mother but for that reason alone, to get away from her mother's expectations, considering her older sister, a professional, a doctor serving overseas for the Army, Susan is someone Lillian could never aspire to be, she just doesn't have it. However, she is determined to ensure she can do this.
The author develops this read into a beautiful heart warming story while all the while bringing the tragedy of war to these hard working women who have taken on the work usually done by stronger males, calloused hands, working in all sorts of weather from heat to freezing cold, working in rain and mud, they were truly inspiring. All the while the sexual tension that arises between Flora and Charles is steaming. Charles who has a vineyard, a widower with two small girls is taken in by Flora's quiet resolve, her ability to engage with his daughters and her dedication to her father and brothers. Of course during this time, of war, loss and certain behavioural expectations, the developing love takes its time and for Charles to take the plunge.
These three women make all sorts of friendships during the time they have signed up for and the author has some of the girls remark only on a few occasions of farmers who were difficult and patronising or people from the various towns making snide comments. However, Flora does overhear disparaging remarks by the town's housewives that are obviously directed to her. The women were billeted in mixed housing, sometimes just tin sheds while other times in sections of the house or lined out buildings. Their facilities would see young women of today run a mile. Even though these women earned better money than ever before, the amount seemed inadequate for the work taken on.
When the war came to Australian shores the land down under lost its innocence. War had belonged to Europe and Britain, raging for years and while Aussie service personnel of all persuasions had left their country to fight in that war, the thought of it landing on Australian shores was another thing altogether.
The author has the reader look at three different young women, from different backgrounds and environments. Flora Thomas is a young woman that by the standards of the day was considered “a spinster”. Flora has taken on the role of mother since the death of their mother. One day her brother who is medically unfit for war service is handed a white feather (I thought this was mainly WW1 in Britain), however, so incensed by this, Flora decides to sign up for the Land Army.
Betty is a shop girl for Woolworths, a job highly sought after in this era, personalised service was important. However, she is tired of the complaints and after an evacuation drill that took place for which she found quite exciting, returning to work and listening to the moaning women unable to get red lipstick like the American movie stars, she decides that with the government's advertising for the Land Army and to support her boyfriend, with a bit of arm twisting needed for her parents as she is only seventeen and needing their approval, Betty signs up to be a part of the Land Army.
Lillian, a girl from the upper echelons of Adelaide society decides to sign up also much to the distaste of her mother but for that reason alone, to get away from her mother's expectations, considering her older sister, a professional, a doctor serving overseas for the Army, Susan is someone Lillian could never aspire to be, she just doesn't have it. However, she is determined to ensure she can do this.
The author develops this read into a beautiful heart warming story while all the while bringing the tragedy of war to these hard working women who have taken on the work usually done by stronger males, calloused hands, working in all sorts of weather from heat to freezing cold, working in rain and mud, they were truly inspiring. All the while the sexual tension that arises between Flora and Charles is steaming. Charles who has a vineyard, a widower with two small girls is taken in by Flora's quiet resolve, her ability to engage with his daughters and her dedication to her father and brothers. Of course during this time, of war, loss and certain behavioural expectations, the developing love takes its time and for Charles to take the plunge.
These three women make all sorts of friendships during the time they have signed up for and the author has some of the girls remark only on a few occasions of farmers who were difficult and patronising or people from the various towns making snide comments. However, Flora does overhear disparaging remarks by the town's housewives that are obviously directed to her. The women were billeted in mixed housing, sometimes just tin sheds while other times in sections of the house or lined out buildings. Their facilities would see young women of today run a mile. Even though these women earned better money than ever before, the amount seemed inadequate for the work taken on.
April 26, 2020
A very nice, solid historical book with good descriptions of harvesting. HOWEVER! One star off for yet another grievous injury to my person by this book - which along with The Chillbury Ladies' Choir, another WW2 novel about women, had the absolute audacity to set up a character as gay with obvious queer coding (a man who really likes poetry and hasn't kissed his girlfriend ever? Please) and then have the character be completely heterosexual. Why do people keep doing this! What is it with WW2 novels? Do the authors have no idea what queer coding is? It's the only explanation for why they keep creating characters like Obviously Gay David and then making them heterosexual. I actually wrote down a list of shit excuses the author might try to pull for why David wasn't interested in his girlfriend, from "David doesn't know how sex works" to "he's got bad breath" or "he's just shy" or "he's a spy" or "he's already married" to "secret family" but I couldn't have predicted the excuse the author ACTUALLY used, which was literally just "I didn't kiss you because of The War." REALLY? For fuck's sake! At least the Chillbury Ladies' choir had the decency to give us some minor queer characters to make up for the whole not-gaying of the coded gay character, but in this book queer people don't exist. Outrageous!
Bonus points off for the scene later in the book where Charles is making out with Flora and finds "a breast." Not Flora's breast, just...a breast. Thank god for the nice scenes of female friendship and the descriptions of farming because otherwise this would be a wall to wall hetfest that dangled a queer character in front of my eyes and then whisked him away while going "nyeh nyeehh ne nyyeeehh nyeehhh"
Bonus points off for the scene later in the book where Charles is making out with Flora and finds "a breast." Not Flora's breast, just...a breast. Thank god for the nice scenes of female friendship and the descriptions of farming because otherwise this would be a wall to wall hetfest that dangled a queer character in front of my eyes and then whisked him away while going "nyeh nyeehh ne nyyeeehh nyeehhh"
June 23, 2019
Interesting tale about 3 girls who signed up as Land Army girls to do their parts when their sweet hearts or family as away fighting in World War 2. I didn't know about this movement till I read this book - how young australian women took up agricultural labour to address the shortage in manpower as most young men had left to fight in WW2. And how significant their efforts were to keep Australia going. It took till 2012 for the Australian Government to be officially thank them for their efforts, what a long long time!
Here is an interesting articles about Peggy who served in the Land Army and then fought for their efforts to get recognition from the govt. Admirable!
https://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/...
Here is an interesting articles about Peggy who served in the Land Army and then fought for their efforts to get recognition from the govt. Admirable!
https://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/...
Displaying 1 - 30 of 170 reviews