Written by Samantha Henthorn
Lovely family
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| Published by | Independently published (22 Jun. 2017) |
| Genre | Children's Historical Fiction on Military & Wars |
| Pages | 91 |
| ASIN | B01MAYULK1 |
| ISBN-10 | 1521454124 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1521454121 |
I bought Piccalilly during the #DecTheShelves2019 event and have just read it during the #20booksofsummer20 challenge.
The blurb:
He has been serving in the army in World War One.
When Lillian's parents receive a telegram informing them of the worst, Lillian discovers that Joe's spirit is living on in a series of comforting events.
Piccalilly is based around a true story, in memory of the author's family.
Written originally for the author's mother, but published to remember those who lost their lives during World War One.
A short story that both children and adults can (hopefully) enjoy.
Short Stories
Fiction
My thoughts:
I bought this book during the #DecTheShelves challenge last year because I am a bit of a fan of Samantha Henthorn's humour and her Curmudgeon Avenue series.Piccalilly, however, is written in a very different style, and while not a comedy, made me smile in several places, and also brought tears to my eyes.
This is a very serious short story about family life during World War I from a child's perspective, told in a child's voice. The delightful Lillian, known as Lilly or Piccalilly because of her love of the mustard relish, is based on the author's own Nana.
News has reached the Smith family by way of a telegram, that their second son Joe has been killed in action. They have already lost one son, William, in the war. For Joe, there is no body to bury, but accepting his death means organising a memorial service for him.
While the adults balance their grief with their daily lives, and learn that Joe has been courting a young girl, eight-year-old Lilly refuses to believe he is dead. Lilly has been seeing him everywhere she looks.
Lilly's hopes of him coming home rise when Joe's friend Sam calls at the house to say he's seen Joe on the boat and he'll stop by later for a drink with his old friend.
Joe of course is dead, but before he moves on, his ghost has come home to say his final goodbye.
Perhaps a child is more receptive to seeing ghosts. Lilly is convinced she has played with Joe and seen him in several places. When Joe finally comes to say goodbye, he leaves Lilly such a beautiful letter, helping her to accept his death but also asking her to remain hopeful for the future.
I enjoyed Piccalilly from a historical point of view; but I also enjoyed remembering what it was like to see things through a child's eyes - the sibling squabbles, the games played, the things they notice but cannot name...
I smiled when I read that Lilly knew she was in trouble when her "Sunday name" Lilian was used. It was also telling that this little girl did not know what grief or possibly depression was. Lilly described what she saw as "mother looked like mother, but was not mother".
A lovely family story guaranteed to bring a lump to your throat.
| Author Bio – Samantha Henthorn |
|---|
 Samantha Henthorn was born in 1970-something in Bury, England. She has had short stories and poetry published in magazines. Her books include the Curmudgeon Avenue series (The Terraced House Diaries and The Harold and Edith adventures). '1962', 'Quirky Tales to Make Your Day' and 'Piccalilly' She has two cats, one dog, one gorgeous grown up daughter and one husband. When not reading or writing, she is listening to heavy metal and would be thrilled to bits if someone read her books. |
| Social Media Links – | |
| Web site | https://samanthahenthornfindstherightwords.blog |
| https://www.instagram.com/samantha.henthornauthor/ | |
| Goodreads | https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16004689.Samantha_Henthorn |
| Facebook Author Page | https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaHenthornAuthor/ |
| X | https://twitter.com/SamanthaHfinds |
| Newsletter | https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/d0q2h7 |
Thank you so much Deborah. YOU brought a tear to my eye! I am sure Nana would love that Piccalilly is still being read xxx
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