7 World War II Books Set on the Home Front

When I started writing The Light Over London, I wanted to tell stories I hadn’t seen before. I discovered that there’s a rich tradition of books set on the home front—no matter where that might be. Here are seven historical novels to add to your reading list.

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

The first thing you should know about City of Girls is that it’s a blast to read. This is due in large part to Vivian Morris, the narrator, who takes you through her debaucherous younger years in New York City’s theater world. Then the United States enters World War II, and she’s forced to grow up quickly. The story becomes more complex, a little tragic, but also wonderfully touching. 

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Set in France during the war, this book tells the story of Vianne and Isabelle, two sisters who find themselves handling the German invasion of France in very different ways. Hannah’s writing is sometimes lyrical and she uses some beautiful turns of phrase to describe the sometimes impossible decisions the two women are faced with.

The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher

My love for this book is pretty well documented at this point, but I can’t mention World War II fiction without bringing it up again. The Shell Seekers is ostensibly about a woman named Penelope Keeling and her mostly horrible children who are trying to convince her to sell her late father’s painting, which is also called The Shell Seekers. However, it’s much more than that with a narrative that weaves through several time periods—including Penelope’s time in the WRNS during World War II. For Pilcher aficionados, Noel from The Shell Seekers gets something of a redemption tour during September, but I’ll leave you to decide whether he’s really earned it or not. 

A Dangerous Crossing by Rachel Rhys

The war is a creeping threat in this book, set on an ocean liner bound for Australia on the eve of the German invasion of Poland. The main character, Lily, becomes fixated with a young man who is sailing with her. But the claustrophobia of the ship begins to take hold and bad thing happen the longer they’re out at sea.

The Cazalet Chronicles by Elizabeth Jane Howard

I read the entire five-book Cazalet series between 2017 and 2019, and I would happily do it all over again. The books span the interwar period through to post-war austerity, but the war-time years are really the pivot point of the narrative, highlighting the way the war hurries along the slow descent of one very privileged family.

After the Party by Cressida Connolly 

This book starts out like a domestic novel about the county set but quickly twists in ways that—if you don’t know the context of the story—will feel shocking. After the Party is immaculately researched and beautifully written.

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

Does The Alice Network happen during World War II? No. Is that going to keep me from putting it on this list? No, because this dual timeline book takes place during World War I and right after World War II. This book stands out for me because Quinn beautifully portrays the danger and brutality of the women working as spies behind enemy lies in World War I.

The Woman Who Was “The Real Force Behind Churchill”

In researching my upcoming release, The Light Over London, I was continually amazed at the many—often unsung—ways women contributed to the war effort in Britain during World War II. The Lightseekers is an ongoing series of articles that highlights some of their work and the ways they brought light to Britain in one of its darkest times.

She was married to the most famous man in the world during World War II, but Clementine Churchill did far more than stand by her husband. She was an active, dynamic part of his war efforts from handling informal diplomatic duties to managing the man himself.

Born April 1, 1885, Clementine Ogilvy Hozier was the daughter of Henry Montague Hozier and Lady Blanche Hozier, although there is question about her actual paternity given her mother’s well-known affairs. (Lady Blanche is reported to have managed ten lovers at once, although verifying this is, understandably, somewhat difficult.)

Clementine was educated at home and then at schools before attending the Sorbonne in Paris. At 18, she became secretly engaged to Sir Sidney Peel—twice—who had fallen in love with her. However, she would not marry him. 

Winston Churchill (1874-1965) with fiancée Clementine Hozier (1885-1977) shortly before their marriage in 1908, Wikimedia Commons

Clementine met Winston Churchill in 1904 at a ball at Crewe House. Winston thought her beautiful at this first meeting. But in 1908 they would meet again, this time at a party hosted by one of her distance relatives, and this time he recalled that she’d become an intelligent woman of character. He proposed five months later at Blenheim Palace, and they were married just over a month later on September 12.  

During World War I, Clementine distinguished herself with her efforts on the home front. She organized canteens for munition workers in London and was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1918 in gratitude for her work.

When World War II broke out, Clementine resumed her war work with the Red Cross, serving as chairman of the Red Cross Aid to Russia Fund. She was also the President of the Young Women’s Christian Association War Time Appeal (YWCA) and the chairman of the Maternity Hospital for the Wives of Officers, Fuller Chase. She was also a fire watcher during the Blitz and was held up as an example of how British women could pull together and help their country.

The wife of the Prime Minister, Mrs Clementine Churchill, inspects members of the ATS at the Royal Artillery Experimental Unit, Shoeburyness, Essex, courtesy of the Imperial War Museum

However, some of her most important work during the war came when Winston became prime minister on May 10, 1940. Judith Evans, the house and collections manager at the Churchills’ home Chartwell, offered perspective on Clementine’s role in an interview in the Telegraph. [LINK] “She was quite a big player,” said Evans. “She helped maintain difficult relationships and worked quietly behind the scenes for the war effort.”

Not only did Clementine act as a hostess and a de facto diplomat, she was her husband’s confidant. So close was their relationship that she had a room of her own in his War Rooms, a bunker just to the east of St. James Park in London that became the nerve center of Britain’s wartime strategy.* She was called to comfort Winston the night before the D-Day landings when her husband was sitting despondent in the operations rooms. Although they presented a united front in public, she was also one of the few people who could openly criticize his ideas in private. She held him accountable and supported him during one of the most uncertain times in British history.

Winston’s chief of staff, General Ismay would later say that the “history of Winston Churchill and of the world would have been a very different story” without Clementine.  And Winston Churchill wrote that, Clementine made “my life and any work I have done possible.”

Lady Clementine Churchill, Baroness Spencer-Churchill and a life peer in her own right, outlived her husband by 12 years. She died in 1977 in her London home at the age of 92.

Read every story of the The Lightseekers in the series archive. You can also learn more about their stories by following the hashtag #TheLightseekers on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, and sign up for Julia's newsletter to receive every episode of The Lightseekers.

*The Churchill War Rooms are fascinating. The underground bunker that was the nerve center of Britian’s war effort was mothballed after the war ended in 1945. The Imperial War Museum has made considerable effort to restore and display it as it would’ve appeared during the war. If you choose to go, which I highly recommend, time your arrival for the opening as a limited number of people can be in the exhibition space at a given time. Plan to give yourself a couple of hours to go through the maze of rooms. 

The Women Who Ran Towards Bombs

In researching my upcoming release, The Light Over London, I was continually amazed at the many—often unsung—ways women contributed to the war effort in Britain during World War II. The Lightseekers is an ongoing series of articles that highlights some of their work and the ways they brought light to Britain in one of its darkest times.

The London Blitz saw 56 out of 57 days of German attacks on the capital city, claiming an estimated 17,500 lives. People learned to shelter in basements, purpose-built spaces, church basements, and Underground stations. But every night, at least one group was out on the streets.

The air raid wardens in London, Newcastle, Liverpool, Glasgow, and all over the United Kingdom, were responsible for both keeping the British public safe and acting as first responders. Most were civilian volunteers who also worked a day job, although there were some full-time air raid wardens. But most of all, their jobs were incredibly dangerous and important.

Air raid wardens were covered by the Air Raid Precautions (later the Civil Defence). Their ranks were varied. Some of the men were World War I veterans who were unable to fight or were deemed too old. About one in every six warden was a woman. 

Elaine Kidwell, who served as an air raid warden in Swansea, told Wales Online in 2009, “We were a family of volunteers so I joined up as a civil defence messenger and when I was 17 years and two months old I asked to be an air raid warden even though you had to be 18. The man in charge could see I was young and when I told him my true age he said ‘In war we bend rules’. So I was in.”

Each warden had a post which covered a certain area and certain sectors within that area. At the start of the war, with no major German air attacks, they were tasked with registering everyone in their sector. They also made sure everyone “did the blackout”, which meant blocking out all visible light in a home either through blackout curtains or by turning off all lights after dark. The wardens were easy to spot with the bright white W painted on the tin helmet they were issued, but they weren't always welcome in those early months. Some saw them as busybodies or pests who demanded to know why a family's blackout wasn't up to scratch.

When the London Blitz started on September 7, 1940, all that changed. When the air raid sirens would sound, everyone else was meant to shelter. The wardens, however, helped people into shelters, touring their sectors to make sure that no one was out and in danger. That exposed them to the possibility of being hit themselves, either by a bomb, falling bricks, shrapnel, or other debris.

Kidwell recalled a close encounter while on one of her shifts: “I suddenly saw a parachute mine drift down a few yards away and it went off, blowing me backwards until I hit a wall. Amazingly, I was alright so I dusted my jacket down and applied my lipstick. My lipstick was like my armour so I felt safer."

All-in War Worker- Everyday Life For Mrs M Hasler, Barnes, Surrey, 1942, courtesy of the Imperial War Museum

At sixteen, Dorothy Lee volunteered to become a part-time warden like her father. In an interview with the website Memories of War, she recounted her what it was like to be out on the streets when the bombs were falling, saying, "I don’t think I was ever that scared. But then again maybe because you’re young."

If a bomb were to fall in a sector, a warden was often the first on the scene—long before the fire brigade, police, or ambulances arrived.

"You all have something you must do," said Lee. "You’re not running around which—you had to be orderly and do these things and I think that kept me sane in as much as I was panicking that day."

The wardens performed what first-aid they could and put out smaller fires. When a building collapsed, they might be one of the people digging survivors out. It was just as possible that they would find they were too late.

At the end of a shift, when the all clear sounded, wardens would submit information on bomb strikes in their sectors including the size of the damage. Then they would go back to their normal day jobs until their next shift.

"It’s amazing what you can endure if you’ve got a job and you stick to it," said Kidwell.

Read every story of the The Lightseekers in the series archive. You can also learn more about their stories by following the hashtag #TheLightseekers on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

The Lightseekers

In researching my upcoming release, The Light Over London, I was continually amazed at the many—often unsung—ways British women contributed during World War II.

The Ack-Ack Girls manned the anti-aircraft guns defending Britain from Luftwaffe attacks. 

Spies got valuable information out of Germany, occupied France, and other enemy territories.

Land Girls worked the farms and fed the country.

Factory girls braved dangerous conditions to make the munitions necessary to fight battles on all fronts.

All of these women were instrumental to achieving the ultimate goal: winning Britain the war.

“After the greatest darkness... there is light.”

— The Light Over London

As I kept reading about these ordinary women rising to the challenge and doing extraordinary things, I realized that I didn't just want to tell the story of The Light Over London. I wanted to tell all of their stories. I wanted to show their bravery and single-mindedness, hoping to teach just a few more women their stories as I told them.

I call these women The Lightseekers, and over the coming months I'm going to endeavor to tell their stories both here and on social media. You can follow stories of The Lightseekers on my blog and in The Lightseekers archive which will grow as articles are released. And for more information, you can follow the hashtag #TheLightseekers on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Fall TBR Roundup

As some readers know, I moved to London last May after nearly nine years of living in New York City. While I was excited for new adventures, one thing I was decidedly not excited about was saying goodbye to most of my books. Romance readers—and really any hardcore readers—know that it's really only a matter of time before our books take over our lives. I was definitely at max capacity for books in my old apartment on the Upper East Side. (One of my best friends once told me, "I worry that I won't hear from you for a few days and I'll come over to find you've been crushed to death because one of your book piles has fallen on top of you.") I wound up giving a ton of books to a used bookstore run out of my local library's basement so at least they were going to a good cause.

Unfortunately all of that moving and writing—I handed in The Taste of Temptation to my editor seven days after arriving in the U.K.—I lost track of what I was reading. I've been tracking my reading in some form or another since I was in college, but for whatever reason I just wasn't writing books down as I whipped through them this summer.

I restarted this fall using a pretty notebook, and oh boy can I see a comfort reading trend, especially when I was on deadline and working extra hard to get manuscripts to my editor this summer. Here are a few of my favorites:

The Shell Seekers, by Rosamund Pilcher

This was my first Rosamund Pilcher novel, recommended to me by my mother. It's a sweeping story about several generations of a family. At the center of it is a painting that's a mother's legacy but which most of her children don't appreciate until they realize its value. Throughout the 600+ pages, readers realize that there's far more to the mother's life than she's ever told her children, starting with her childhood in Cornwall and winding through World War II.

The Cazalet Chronicles, by Elizabeth Jane Howard

Another British World War II saga, this book focuses around an upper middle class family as the threat of war and then the reality of it change relationships and fortunes. I actually read the first four books and thought I was done with the series, but then I found out there's a fifth called All Change, written some years after the first four books. That's right up there on my TBR.

Silent in the Grave, by Deanna Raybourn

I'm talked a lot about my love of mystery on this site. The Lady Julia Grey mysteries tick a lot of boxes for me: amateur woman detective, Victorian setting, hero who is just outside the bounds of propriety and has secrets in his past. I've actually read the first three, but Silent in the Grave is the place to start.

The Silent Companions, by Laura Purcell

This was my Halloween read this year. I always get the urge to read something slightly spooky (although not too scary because authors need beauty sleep too). A Gothic novel seemed like just the thing, and this one was about as Gothic as they come. I don't want to say too much for fear of giving away the twisting, turning, always-leaving-you-doubting plot, but it's worth giving this one a shot if you love historical reads. (US readers: this book is available for preorder now and comes out on March 6.)