13 December 2014

BOOK REVIEW



The Darkest Hour
by Barbara Erskine

Set in both the present day and the summer of 1940, The Darkest Hour takes the reader on two journeys. One tells the story of Evelyn Lucas, a young war artist during the Battle of Britain, the other of Lucy Standish, a recently widowed art historian in the present day.

With Spitfires taking off from the Westhampnett air field and the Battle of Britain raging in the skies above the Sussex countryside, Evelyn records it all in her paintings.

Seventy years on, Lucy becomes aware of Evelyn and her work when she attempts to put the pieces of her own shattered world back together. Unaware of what has gone before, she finds herself inextricably caught in the tangled web of deception, jealousy and greed surrounding Evelyn’s life as she tries to unravel the mystery.

Full of twists and turns, with a colourful array of strong and wonderful characters, Barbara Erskine has told a fascinating story full of mystery, and cleverly woven around those brave young men who risked their lives in their Spitfires in the skies above Britain.