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Mrs Boots Goes to War - Deborah Carr

 


Description

Review

This is the third book in the Mrs Boots series, but it could be read as a standalone. I think this is the best book yet.

I've not read many books set in the 1914 war and so was interested firstly in the book from that point of view. The book covers the war from the perspective of  the Boot family in Nottingham and their employees and the impact it has on all their lives and of course the Boots business. I found it to be well written with attention to detail and historical accuracy.

I felt myself feeling parallels to the pandemic we are living through at the moment when certain scenes were described.  Towards the end of the book obviously the Spanish flu pandemic strikes in 1918, and it really did feel very comparable to the world we are living in today.

Whilst I knew a lot of WW2 domestic and social history I knew very little of the WW1 background. The author really brought alive the era with many local place names familiar to me. I hadn't realised the role Chilwell ammunition factory played in WW1 or the working conditions that had to be endured. I think anyone would find this interesting but me for it had a special resonance with being a local area.

Once again Mrs Boots (or Lady Boot as she is by now) proves how much of a driving force she was for change and in the compassionate treatment of staff. I really liked reading the most about the interactions of her with the staff at Boots. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I'm giving it 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to netgalley for the ARC to review.

Comments

  1. Thank you for your wonderful review of Mrs Boots Goes to War, I'm delighted you enjoyed the book! (I'm not sure why I've only just seen this post, so apologise for the delayed 'thank you').

    ReplyDelete

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