Christmas with the Railway Girls

Sep 22, 2024 2:21 AM

Author:Maisie Thomas,Julia Franklin

Brought to you by Penguin.

The brand new festive Railway Girls novel set in Manchester during WWII. Perfect for fans of Nancy Revell, Daisy Styles and Margaret Dickinson.

Manchester, 1941

Christmas is the season for family and friends, and this year the railway girls will need each other more than ever.

Dot's dear friend Cordelia appears to have the perfect life. When her daughter Emily arrives home unexpectedly, she can't wait to introduce her to her friends. But things don't go to plan and Cordelia has to decide where her loyalty lies.

Things aren't going too smoothly for Alison either. Her beloved boyfriend has yet to propose, but there's a charity fundraiser dance and she's dressed up specially. Surely, tonight must be the night.

Colette's friends are envious of her devoted husband. He meets her after every shift on the railway, and accompanies her around town. Colette has a secret, one that will change her life, if only she knew who to confide in.

The railway girls have survived unsettling times, and while the bombings might have eased, their own turmoil has only just begun. With Christmas fast approaching, will their wishes come true?

Readers LOVE the Railway Girls:

'Gripping and intriguing'

'Great story lines'

'Exceptional story . . . a must-read'

'Poignant'

'Emotional . . . strong women'

Reviews

Wonderfully fully-fleshed characters are the mainstay of [Val Wood's] stories, and fans will love Beatrix Fawcett.

—— Peterborough Telegraph

A gripping saga.

—— The People’s Friend

Gritty and uplifting, it's a tale of triumph over adversity

—— Choice on The Mill Girls of Albion Lane

A striking debut . . . A bold, interesting novel . . . I'm excited to see what Menon comes up with next

—— Sunday Times

A bravura debut novel . . . It's clever, satisfying, and often playful

—— Guardian

This is a book saturated with the sensations of southeast Asia; where, in Menon's pungent turns of phrase, you feel as though you could "grab the air in two hands and wring it out"; where guilt can be "squatting in the room . . . stringy as spit", and where tiger princes and jungle spirits lurk amid a painful colonial past

—— The Times, pick of the latest fiction

A rich and moving family history takes shape, filled with love and heartache, guilt and grief, and no end of secrets and lies . . . Gripping, compelling . . . Menon's story shows that, though time flows on, history's waves still ripple decades downstream

—— Economist

Menon is a sparky storyteller whose thickly atmospheric debut keeps us guessing as its many ghosts press in ever closer

—— Daily Mail

A beautiful, richly textured absorbing read. I was utterly transported

—— Irenosen Okojie

A propulsive debut scattered with gems of fresh and surprising imagery. Menon is at her best exploring the intricate bond between women over generations, their histories strung tight over the fraught realities of a nation coming into being

—— Preti Taneja

Always here for a cross-generational family story, especially one that involves moral ambivalence

—— Marian Keyes selection for her PageTurners top reads

An intriguing, fast-paced, imaginative novel

—— Bad Form

A beautifully written story of one Indian Malaysian family's history, entwined with secrets and hidden heartbreak . . . Fragile Monsters is a story of homecoming which illustrates the tension of returning to a past which remains painfully present . . . a cleverly-crafted family saga which explores themes of truth, belonging and shame across multiple generations

—— Asian Review of Books

Leavened with a brisk, dry humour, Fragile Monsters is as propulsive as any mystery, with a bewitching sense of place . . . an accomplished feat of multi-stranded storytelling

—— Evening Standard

Lyrically beautiful writing

—— i

Spellbinding

—— Tatler Malaysia

A story about love, betrayal and redemption with an electric daughter-grandmother relationship at its heart

—— Sheer Luxe, reading recommendation

A terrific family saga.

—— Village Bookshelf

A lyrical prose reminiscent of William Trevor, and a haunting family drama.

—— Times Literary Supplement

One of the most exciting literary talents to emerge in the last decade.

—— Irish Examiner

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