Set in Norfolk 1919, this is book three in ‘The Royal Station Master’s Daughters’ series where we get to learn what life was like on the Sandringham estate for the staff and the Royals. This book is set just after the war, when women were learning their husbands would not be returning home from overseas or were suffering from the effects of war. Women who could no longer support themselves and their children, were often sent to the workhouses and it was horrendous to learn of the character Kitty having to resort to this, with her six children. It was painful to read of their experiences and a real eye opener. The introduction of psychotherapy for mentally suffering soldiers was also an interesting read.

The camaraderie and true friendships of the families helping each other through thick and thin, just to survive, always trying to raise a smile was commendable and Ada’s tea dance was a joy to read.
Based on the real life station master, Harry Saward, I enjoyed the author’s take of this emotional World War 1 saga of family, love and our Royal family. This book is a gripping and heartwarming historical saga and I can see exactly why these novels have attracted so many readers. This was my first read in the series and worked perfectly as a standalone novel but I would have liked to know more about the daughters back stories, so as expected, reading in them order is beneficial for continuity but not completely necessary. Superbly developed characters with realistic pre and post war issues, heartwarming storylines with emotional reminders of how the Sandringham Company of soldiers and their families were affected by the war the men fought in Gallipoli, makes this a first class read.

Needless to say I’ll be reading the first two books to catch up on the series and if historical saga stories are your go to genre, then you must read Ellee Seymour’s books.