extraordinary friendship, tells how two women changed the fate of the Second World War and the course of history.
When an impossibly shy young woman named Judy Morgan finishes her studies in Physics at Cambridge University, it is with dreams of changing the world for the better.
Meanwhile, a beautiful, young Jewish woman decides to flee her beloved Austria, changing her name to Hedy Lamarr, and risking everything to get to America, as far away from the Nazi threat as possible.
A powerful friendship is formed when the two women meet in pre-war London—with Judy’s passion for science a perfect match for Hedy’s brilliant talent for invention. So when the world is gripped by a war that nobody could have imagined in their worst nightmares, both Hedy and Judy know they must act now.
As their lives repeatedly collide, in Cambridge, California, Pearl Harbor and beyond—throwing both their lives into danger and tragedy—Judy and Hedy both find themselves seeking ways to end the war.
But neither of them will know that one of them is on a path of tragedy. A path that could change the outcome of the war, but also threaten their friendship forever…
Fans of The Ragged Edge of Night, My Name is Eva and Beneath a Scarlet Sky, will love this unforgettable story about love, courage and devastation set in World War Two Britain, Hollywood and Pearl Harbor. Based on two true stories of amazing ‘hidden women’ who changed the world, this novel shows the power of friendship in the darkest hours of history.
Author Bio:
Suzanne Kelman is a 2015 Academy of Motion Pictures Nicholl Finalist, Multi-Award-Winning Screenwriter and a Film Producer. As well as working in film she is also an International Amazon Bestselling Fiction Author of the Southlea Bay Series – The Rejected Writers’ Book Club, Rejected Writers Take the Stage and The Rejected Writers’ Christmas Wedding. Born in the United Kingdom, she now resides in Washington State.
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My Review
When the Nightingale Sings by Suzanne KelmanMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
**Content Warning** This book does deal with pregnancy loss and traumatic miscarriages.
I have to admit that before reading this book I knew nothing about Hedy Lamarr. I had heard her name and knew vaguely that she was a film star a long time ago, but that was as far as it went. I certainly knew nothing of her inventions or had any idea that she was much more than a celebrated beauty. I also knew nothing of Joan Curran, a Welsh physicist who played a key role in some of the advancements that helped the allies during the second world war. In this book, Suzanne Kelman takes Hedy Lamarr and reimagines Joan Curran as Judy Jenkins and tells a story of them becoming friends and struggling against the male-dominated society that dismisses their brains and achievements. At one point (and forgive me here for not having taken an exact quotation at the time) Judy thinks that one of the men treats her achievement like praising her for having baked a cake. It really sums up the what that they are dismissed and diminished well.
I always love reading about women who have achieved so much but that we have forgotten about. Of course, I'd much prefer that we hadn't forgotten, but it is good to rediscover people. Judy's achievements in this book mirror Joan's at least until the end of the war. Her personal life is fiction though because, unlike Hedy, she didn't live in the spotlight, so there is more room for things to be imagined. Both women have much to deal with in their lives. As if living in wartime wasn't hard enough. While their brains and talents may be the scaffolding of this story, it's the fact that they are very much women and women with the same worries and concerns as the rest of us that really gives it life.
There is a little bit of a tendency to tell rather than show for some of the book which does slow it down a little. With so much to cover in terms of the work that Judy in particular does, I'm not sure that this could have been avoided.
This was a fascinating read which had me googling Joan Curran and Hedy Lamarr as soon as I had finished it. If you enjoy historical fiction, particularly women's fiction, then I think that you will love this book.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and given voluntarily.
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Thank you for your lovely review!~ Have a lovely weekend
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