The Bannister Girls

by Jean Saunders

The twentieth century was a decade and a half old at the outbreak of the Great War, but little had altered since the days of Queen Victoria. All women, regardless of their status, had well defined roles in a life whose strict boundaries were rarely overstepped. But the advent of the war, which stole the lives of a generation of young men, slowly began to erode such man-made barriers to equality and fulfilment. The Bannister Girls is a poignant novel of love and war, and the rites of passage of a generation that will mould the Britain of the new century.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Romance, Fiction

534 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

Jean Innes was born on 8 February 1932 in London, England, but she have lived in the West Country almost all her life. She married with Geoff Saunders, her childhood sweetheart, and they have three grown up children. She lived in Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, where she wrote full time. She passed away on 3 August 2011, after contracting an illness, after being rushed to Weston General Hospital.

Jean began her career as a magazine writer and had published around 600 short stories. She start to published gothic romance novels under her married name Jean Saunders and her maiden name Jean Innes in the 1970s. In 1980s, she created, to wrote historical romances, two pseudonyms, her most popular, Rowena Summers and Sally Blake. In 1991 her novel, "The Bannister Girls," was shortlisted for the Romantic Novel of Year award. In 2004, she began to used the penname Rachel Moore.

She was an active member and enthusiast of Swanwick, the Writers' Summer School, which takes place in Derbyshire, England, every August, she was a committee member several times, and also Vice-Chairman. She was elected the seventeenth Chairman (1993-1995) of the Romantic Novelists' Association. As a member of the Romance Writers of America she had given talks at conferences in various venues of the USA. She was a member of the Crime Writers' Association. She also was a member and past committee member of the West Country Writers' Association.

Reviews

[StMargarets · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story opens in London, 1915 with the eighteen year-old socialite heroine being picked up by a French pilot for a forbidden evening of fun, culminating in a one night stand.

The times, they are a-changing.

That opening was stretching it. I don't think one night stands were common to the upper/middle class women in 1915. Of course the WW1 novel I'm comparing this to is Rilla of Ingleside, which was written for children/teens.

Thankfully, this story was strong enough to sweep away my comparisons to Rilla and stand on its own.

It concerns the Bannister family and how they coped with the war. The father owns woolen mills, a country house and a London house. His business is booming because of the war and he is often in Yorkshire for weeks at time. Real reason: he has a long-term mistress

The mother is a snobby socialite, stuck in the past, but still trying to do her bit. She is cold to her family but can be kind to those in need in a Lady Bountiful way.

The eldest daughter is married to a dry stick. Thankfully, dry stick is blown up inspecting a munitions factory.

The middle daughter dabbles in feminism and sees herself as an independent thinker detached from societal norms. Her love affair is marred by her pride, poor judgment and - ironically - her guilt at not adhering to societal norms.

The youngest daughter, Angel, has the most page time. It's her journey from pampered princess to nurse and her love affair with her French pilot that are the best parts of the story.

I will spoil you all and let you know that death(s) comes early in the story to keep the reader in suspense. But all the Bannisters get their happy ending - even the snob mother who is willfully ignorant of the trials and tribulations of her husband and daughters. I didn't think Naksed would steer me towards a bittersweet ending and she didn't! This one has plausible HEAs for everyone.

And if you haven't read Rilla of Ingleside, I highly recommend it. It's by my beloved LM Montgomery and I read it about once a year.

[Naksed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Epic, sweeping, World War I saga centered around three privileged British sisters and their romances, tragedies, challenges, and evolution during an extremely traumatic wartime. They go from being pampered ninnies into hard-working, sacrificing, strong nurses, ambulance drivers, factory and farm workers to aid the war effort. There is plenty of death, tragedy, ugliness, and betrayal. But it is also uber-romantic, plausible, evocative and unputdownable. I loved each of the three protagonists and their male counterparts. The cast of secondary characters was great too, especially the stoic, snobby matriarch who sees the world as she knows it with all its rigid class distinctions, rules of decorum and etiquette, crumble down around her but keeps a stiff upper lip. A fascinating minutiae of the era without it becoming a dry history lesson. I really can't say enough of how much I loved this novel.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a straight forward romance set in WWI.
It's about a family of three sisters and their parents. The mother is a snob and the father has his secrets. It mostly follows one of the sisters, Angel and to me she wasn't the most interesting one. The depiction of the war, the battles, the wounded and the treatment of them was done very well with nothing spared. I enjoyed this part of it very much.
The opening chapter, I feel, was done to grab the attention and I thought what happened would have been unlikely at that time.
It just seemed to drag on a bit and I can't put my finger on why. I just kept hoping the end was coming soon.
Overall anyone who likes stories in this era will probably enjoy it.

[Kitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book but it dragged on a little..... All the other characters could have been explored much more where the story stays mainly with Angel. I'll be honest, the only reason I finished the book was because I read somewhere that there was a twist. I never found out what this supposed "twist" was.

***SPOILER***

I agree with a blog post which reviewed this book also that the descriptions of the war hospitals were great, but it felt like the only really involved part of the book. The rest from Angel's POV is wondering about Jaques, who seemed like a bit of a sleezy Frenchman for a long time. I honestly thought he was already married or didn't have honourable intentions at all. And either she'd be heart broken and maybe find someone else, or he would have some character development and redeem himself and win her back. But no. The story is more or less a straight forward love story without too many surprises.
If you want a nice romance book with the background of WWI, read this. If you want something a little more involving, probably not the best for you.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

My Review Of
The Bannister Girls by Jean Saunders

This book had a bit of Downton Abbey feel to it, three privileged  sisters, the start of World War I, one sister a bit of a rebel for human rights, one sister a hopeless romantic and one who tries to do everything just the way that it is expected of her. I love this time period and the setting seemed very nice. The story was one of romance and heartbreak and while I found this to be very well written it dragged a bit for me in most places. Angela, the romantic was my favorite of the sisters, her story line was a bit scandalous for the times which I found exciting and Jacques her love interest seemed quite swoon worthy. As for the  other characters in the book, I had a hard time connecting with them. I still enjoyed the overall story line and find this era and setting fascinating.

This review was originally posted on My Fiction Obsession

[Sherri · Rating 5 out of 5]

**** I received an advanced e-copy in exchange for my honest review

Although the 3 Bannister sisters have grown up with a privileged lifestyle, when World War II begins and women are needed in all sorts of positions to help with the war effort, they are all poised to help. Louise helps with the soldiers convalescing in her family home, Ellen tries her hands at several positions, and Angel works as a nurse and ambulance driver. Despte the desolate conditions of the war front, all 3 manage to find the loves of their life.

This book was so engrossing and realistic that I felt I was right there. This book had me laughing and crying. I oved this book and look forward to reading many more by this author.

[Schneehase · Rating 3 out of 5]

England, 1914. In diesem Roman dreht sich alles um die Töchter der wohlhabenden Londoner Familie Bannister.
Die brave Louise, die emanzipierte Ellen und Angel, das romantische Nesthäkchen, könnten charakterlich nicht unterschiedlicher sein, aber alle drei erleben in dieser Zeit ein Wechselbad der Gefühle.
Das Buch ist zwar angenehm und leicht zu lesen, allerdings blieben mir die drei Schwestern eher distanziert und fremd. Auch die Geschichte plätschert so dahin ohne wirklichen Höhepunkt.
Schade, denn die drei unterschiedlichen Schwestern hätten der Autorin doch so viele Möglichkeiten gegeben einen dramatischen Spannungsbogen aufzubauen.
Mein Fazit: Ein nettes Buch, das man zur Unterhaltung lesen kann, aber das nicht wirklich im Gedächtnis hängen bleiben wird.

[Kimberly (kimmerthebooknerd) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley, Agora Books and Jean Saunders for the opportunity to read this great novel. I love historical fiction and the Bannister Girls was a great showcase of the early 1900's. This story left me wanting more. I want to know more about Ellen, Louise and what happens with Fred and Clemence!! Overall, this was a nice easy read in one of my favorite eras to read about.

[marcella magliocco · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little book. The cover however is misleading as it shows girls from the forties whereas the book is set in the first war

[Kristina Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

World War I is just starting. The story follow three ladies from a privileged family: Louise, Ellen, and Angel. Louise marries well as expected by her mother. Ellen is a suffragette who supports many causes much to her mother's dismay. Angel is the light of her father's eye, but a chance encounter with a flyer changes the course of her life. The story dragged for me. It was not what I expected. It has some good writing, but the pacing needed work. The story focuses on Angel with some time spent on the other sisters, the pretentious mother and the father who lacks courage. I will share my full review soon.

[Kelly Furniss · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Bannister girls are three privileged sisters, all quite different in nature faced with trying to do what they can for the Countries War effort. The girls nurse the injured soldiers, drive ambulances and jump to help others often as their disapproving Mother looks on shocked by the social upheaval taking place.
But amongst all the troubles and the turmoil each has their own individual challenges they are facing and you just can't help routing for these young ladies.
A very engaging story that had me hooked to the end.
My thanks go to the publishers, authors and Netgalley in providing this arc in return for a honest review.

[Denise Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story of love, of family, of war.....The Bannister Girls will leave you intrigued and cheering for the mere survival of three sisters, Angel, Ellen and Louise as these young women, during World War I, take different life paths into what was one of the most dreadful wars of our time.
While extinguishing their status of defined roles and boundaries of this time period, they forged ahead in order to be part of the war effort and to become the women they were meant to and desperately wanted to be despite their mother Clemences' stern and most elitist ways. Their father, Fred, has always been and is the supportive parent the girls need especially during this time and he never disappoints. But hang on, "Father" has a secret which is kept hidden behind the walls of the family's Textile business, until......
The characters are believable and interesting and the research was done well as to the War's intensity and it's toll on its participants and the population it surrounded. I thank Jean Saunders, Agora Books and NetGalley for a story I enjoyed.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the ecopy for my Kindle.
This book is a historical romance story during WWI involving 3 sisters and how their life choices exceeds what their parents want for them or disappoints one or both of their parents. Of course, each sister has her own personality and plan which makes the story interesting. Overall, an easy book to read with a story line that has no real surprise or twists.

[Helen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was quite disappointed in this book I’m afraid. I felt at the beginning the events that took place were very unlikely to happen at that time. The characters were rather annoying and I felt the author tried to put big words in for the sake of it which didn’t really flow in the story. However as the book went on it got better about half way and then the ending just seemed flat. I wouldn’t read another again I’m afraid

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book with its fantastic characters and the description of the family relationships. It kept me hooked and moved at times.
Recommended.
Many thanks to Ipso Books and Netgalley for the ARC

[Sandra Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good solid story

the lives of three sisters ,and thier parents all shielded against the real world ,just before the out break of ww1 , the ending came quite quickly, would have liked it with more of the character s new lives

[Nomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable read. If you liked Downtown Abbey, you’ll like this.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Although a bit too mushy at times, it was historically accurate.

[Marian Hearn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the book but although the ending was pleasant I think a bit unlikely. Wont say more or it might spoil it for others.

[June Elias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable! Story was about three sisters living in wartime England.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very tally ho story about 3 sisters during the 1st World War. Light and enjoyable to listen to !

[Danelle Bridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very slow start, but interesting descriptions of war and good end.

[Di Schlenk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intriguing read.

[Lucie Ataya · Rating 4 out of 5]

'The Bannister Girls' is an enjoyable read, albeit at times a little predictable in its plot and characterisation.

It is well written and catapults you back into the First World War era with ease. As a French-born and a Londoner myself, it was a pleasure to plunge back into the 1914 British capital and travel through the North of France.

The book has a lovely, cuddle-like quality to it - although the storyline rarely takes you by surprise, there is something greatly pleasurable in going along with the characters and seeing them end up where you expect (and want!) them to be. It's a nice, relaxing read on the whole, and I recommend into anyone looking for a delicious and easy read.