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Thursday #1
A Girl Called Thursday
A terrifically compelling wartime story of love and loss from the author of A SONG AT TWILIGHT.Born at the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, Mary and Walter Tilford's baby daughter is named Thursday. It was meant to be a message of hope for the future - but they could not foresee that by the time Thursday celebrated her twenty-first birthday, Britain would once again be at war with Germany.Thursday is determined to help in the war effort and volunteers as a Red Cross Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse. She is attached to the Royal Navy, and begins her service at Haslar Hospital on the shores of Portsmouth Harbour. The realities of war are brought home to her when the casualties begin to arrive from Dunkirk and Thursday begins to understand the true meaning of courage. While experiencing all the natural hopes and dreams of any young woman, finding pleasure and joy as well as sorrow in her work, Thursday is given her own opportunity to show strength and bravery in the face of war - and find a lasting love.
Paperback
First published July 1, 2002
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About the author
Lilian Harry
65 books71 followersaka Donna Baker, Nicola West
Donna Thomson was born in Gosport, near Portsmouth Harbour, England, UK. Growing up during the terrifying years of the Blitz in a two-up, two-down terraced house, the youngest of four, she aspired to be a writer from an early age.
As a young woman she worked in the Civil Service and moved to Devon to be near her sailor husband. They had a son and a daughter. When the marriage ended, she and her two children moved to the Midlands, where she happily married again to her second husband. After living in the Lake District for twelve years, she finally moved back to Devon, and now lives in a village on the edge of Dartmoor. She lost her son Philip in 2008, and has two grandchildren. A keen walker and animal-lover, she now has a dog and three ginger cats to keep her busy, along with a wide range of hobbies she enjoys.
She started signing her romance novels as Donna Baker and Nicola West, now she also writes as Lilian Harry (inspired by the first names of her grandparents). Among her works are historical novels, romances and even two books giving advice on how to write short stories and novels.
Donna Thomson was born in Gosport, near Portsmouth Harbour, England, UK. Growing up during the terrifying years of the Blitz in a two-up, two-down terraced house, the youngest of four, she aspired to be a writer from an early age.
As a young woman she worked in the Civil Service and moved to Devon to be near her sailor husband. They had a son and a daughter. When the marriage ended, she and her two children moved to the Midlands, where she happily married again to her second husband. After living in the Lake District for twelve years, she finally moved back to Devon, and now lives in a village on the edge of Dartmoor. She lost her son Philip in 2008, and has two grandchildren. A keen walker and animal-lover, she now has a dog and three ginger cats to keep her busy, along with a wide range of hobbies she enjoys.
She started signing her romance novels as Donna Baker and Nicola West, now she also writes as Lilian Harry (inspired by the first names of her grandparents). Among her works are historical novels, romances and even two books giving advice on how to write short stories and novels.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
December 17, 2017
I have read this book a few times and it's one of my favourites. Love stories set in this era. Recommended.
August 25, 2017
Really enjoyed this book and have the second in the series to read. Based in England during the second world war. The 'background story' tells of the voluntary nurses within the Navy. There is the usual mixture of romance, heartache, loss, uncertainty, family values - but a very good read. Highly recommend.
November 25, 2009
Okay, call this "cheesy" if you want, but I loved this book. It was set in and during my favorite era (WWII, England) so how could I not love this?!! The cheesy part may be that the main character, "Thursday" was a nurse in a Naval Hospital in Portsmouth. Well... what the heck, I couldn't help myself enjoying reading about her experiences dealing with the war wounded. Yeah, there was a little romance thrown in, but to be honest, this author *never* makes the romance "soppy" (as my dear English husband would say). Another thing I love about Lilian Harry is that she truly doesn't sugarcoat her characters, they experience all the hardships and loss that real people suffered through during those trying years. I enjoyed this so much that I've ordered the sequel from Paperbackswap. I didn't know there was a sequel till today and I was pleasantly surprised. :)
April 20, 2023
Thursday is an interesting character and it's neat to see one who has the naivety of the time period. And the poor thing just couldn't catch a break with the men in her life.
Although I didn't like Denise, I found her story really interesting.
Although I didn't like Denise, I found her story really interesting.
July 4, 2019
A lovely war time read, following a wonderful female lead character in Thursday Tilford.
A beautifully choreographed story which really showed the heartache felt throughout the war but also the love and strength shared by the whole nation.
The story flowed fantastically from start to finish, with sadness and happiness in just the right doses.
Certainly a recommendation if a war time story is your type of book.
A beautifully choreographed story which really showed the heartache felt throughout the war but also the love and strength shared by the whole nation.
The story flowed fantastically from start to finish, with sadness and happiness in just the right doses.
Certainly a recommendation if a war time story is your type of book.
March 30, 2019
I loved reading this book, especially learning about Gosport during the war years. I was born in Gosport. My family lived here during the war and I was interested in reading about events that would have affected them. I've now passed the book to my mum and I hope the story will bring back some happy memories for her. She was 9 years old when war ended.
November 23, 2020
Very atmospheric. I felt as though I really knew the characters and the settings without any need for overly long descriptive passages. The storyline was moving, heart wrenching and heart warming. I laughed and I cried.
October 18, 2017
Awesome story! I love historical fiction, and I'm usually a very critical reader, I loved this book so much. It was sad and happy at the same time and very accurate as well as brutal.
January 13, 2019
Story of a young woman and her family in World War 2. Good but not great.
March 4, 2020
I enjoyed it but wish it had ended after the war was over and with Thursday marrying Connor
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 4, 2022
This is a quick, easy read which keeps you engaged throughout. It provides a clear insight into life during WW2. I really like that it has a female lead.
May 1, 2023
I hear there is a sequel to this. I will be looking for it as I felt the main character, Thursday, has more of a story to be told!
July 16, 2024
Loved the book, such an up and down of emotions! But such an amazing ending! Cant wait to read a promise to keep!!
September 25, 2014
A refreshing, feminist and uplifting tale set in the initial years of World War Two, 'A Girl Called Thursday', charts the lives of the Tilford family: mum, dad, Steve, Jenny and Thursday (named such, as the reader is repeatedly told, because she was born on Armistice day and her parents wanted to commemorate the event). The book opens with Thursday's 21st birthday. It's a chirpy event with boisterous sibling rivalry and one sweetly oblivious grandma. However, behind all this, as Lilian Harry points out with a garish want of subtlety, there is a jarring atmosphere of tension and fear in the household as the dark clouds of the immanent war loom.
A couple of chapters later, Thursday announces that she wants to volunteer as a mobile nurse-she is stifled by the life she is expected to lead, and sees the war as a "chance to get away and do something interesting". Unsurprisingly, Thursday's traditional parents clash with her on this decision, but she soon leaves home with their blessing and sets off for Haslar, a foreboding naval Hospital in Portsmouth. Enemas, rifts, friendship, romance and bawdy jokes ensue as Thursday witnesses, first hand, the ugly consequences of war.
Harry's prose is beautifully bold and affecting, when describing loss at Haslar- "She saw the sea, which had been so calm and blue, churned into seething, blood-reddened soup; the beaches strewn with the bodies of the dead and wounded soldiers, in grotesque parody of the sunbathers who had once lain on the golden sands, and the boats which came and went a bitter reminder of the pleasure craft of a different world."
The narrative often returns to Thursday's home, in Worcester. Here, Thursday's sister, Jenny, and cousin, Denise, are embarking on a different kind of personal development: adolescence and the dances, make up and boys that go with it. Through these characters, Harry seems to be saying that in spite of the hardships that the younger generation faced during wartime Britain, they were determined to enjoy life.
This thread of optimism is woven through the novel as again and again, Harry's characters reference Churchill's "We Shall Fight on the Beaches" speech to bolster each other for fresh challenges. In the end, 'A Girl Called Thursday' is about endurance and humanity- "however long it took, the struggle would one day be over"- is a belief that would be relevant to any of us.
A couple of chapters later, Thursday announces that she wants to volunteer as a mobile nurse-she is stifled by the life she is expected to lead, and sees the war as a "chance to get away and do something interesting". Unsurprisingly, Thursday's traditional parents clash with her on this decision, but she soon leaves home with their blessing and sets off for Haslar, a foreboding naval Hospital in Portsmouth. Enemas, rifts, friendship, romance and bawdy jokes ensue as Thursday witnesses, first hand, the ugly consequences of war.
Harry's prose is beautifully bold and affecting, when describing loss at Haslar- "She saw the sea, which had been so calm and blue, churned into seething, blood-reddened soup; the beaches strewn with the bodies of the dead and wounded soldiers, in grotesque parody of the sunbathers who had once lain on the golden sands, and the boats which came and went a bitter reminder of the pleasure craft of a different world."
The narrative often returns to Thursday's home, in Worcester. Here, Thursday's sister, Jenny, and cousin, Denise, are embarking on a different kind of personal development: adolescence and the dances, make up and boys that go with it. Through these characters, Harry seems to be saying that in spite of the hardships that the younger generation faced during wartime Britain, they were determined to enjoy life.
This thread of optimism is woven through the novel as again and again, Harry's characters reference Churchill's "We Shall Fight on the Beaches" speech to bolster each other for fresh challenges. In the end, 'A Girl Called Thursday' is about endurance and humanity- "however long it took, the struggle would one day be over"- is a belief that would be relevant to any of us.
April 12, 2010
Thursday Tilford was born as the Armistice went into effect in 1918. On her 21st birthday, she's facing a whole new war, and she informs her family that she will be working as a VAD at Haslar Naval Hospital at Portsmouth. She's got a lot of growing up to do, and Lilian Harry invites us along to watch.
The minute details that fill a nurse's life are covered, sometimes exhaustively, and you get a very good idea of the drudgery that faced these young people. Harry does some brave things in her storytelling, in that she introduces you to characters about which you truly care, but just as in real life, their being special to you doesn't mean they'll survive.
This was my first Lilian Harry novel, but it will by no means be my last.
The minute details that fill a nurse's life are covered, sometimes exhaustively, and you get a very good idea of the drudgery that faced these young people. Harry does some brave things in her storytelling, in that she introduces you to characters about which you truly care, but just as in real life, their being special to you doesn't mean they'll survive.
This was my first Lilian Harry novel, but it will by no means be my last.
March 30, 2015
This is the story of Thursday Tilford and her family and is set in world war two. Tired of being an apprenticed tailor she signs up to be a VAD nurse (voluntary aid detachment). There's new friendships, romance and a lot of bombs. It is an enjoyable and easy to read.
I don't usually read this type of book but it was recommended by a lovely lady from my library. It is cheesy in a few places but in a nice way.
I don't usually read this type of book but it was recommended by a lovely lady from my library. It is cheesy in a few places but in a nice way.
October 19, 2008
Good Book
April 27, 2014
A really easy book to read - lovely
July 18, 2015
A historical fiction set in a place which is very special to me. Lilian Harry writes evocatively of the places in her stories, draping her characters over the bones of the buildings.
July 28, 2016
A fabulous book set during world war 2, set in the naval hospital Haslar. I couldn't put it down.
October 18, 2018
I love this book
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews