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Description edit
England, 31st August 1939: the world is on the brink of war. As Hitler prepares to invade Poland, thousands of children are evacuated from London to escape the impending Blitz. Torn from her mother, eight-year-old Anna Sands is relocated with other children to a large Yorkshire estate which... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters/People edit
- Anna Sands: The main character. She lived in London during WWII but was sent away to a mansion acting as a school. The children had been evacuated before the War came to town.
- Thomas Ashton: Owner of the estate that has been turned into a school. He teaches Latin and is wheelchair bound.
- Ruth Weir: A teacher at the school.
- Roberta Sands: Anna's mother.
- Elizabeth Ashton: Wife of Thomas Ashton. She volunteered to use her home as a school for the evacuated children.
- Pawel: An artist who comes to live with the Ashtons at the school. He escaped from the Polish Army. He is going to teach art classes.
- Clifford Norton: A member of English government.
- Peter Norton: Clifford's wife. She has an art gallery.
- Lewis Sands: Anna's father. Roberta's husband. He's a soldier and goes off to war.
- William: Thomas's brother.
- Jamie: Anna's husband.
- Claudia: Thomas's sister.
- Billy: A student at the Ashton's school.
- Mr Stewart: He led the school. He's a Scotsman who'd been a headmaster in Pimlico.
- Aunt Mary: Thomas's aunt.
- Katy Todd: A girl at the Ashton's school.
- Mrs Robson: A housemaid at the Ashton's school.
- Mrs Mary Smithie: Thomas Ashton's housekeeper in his later years.
- Miriam: Thomas Ashton's mother.
- Margarete: A woman who seduced Thomas when he was a young man.
- Edward: Thomas's older brother.
- Mrs Sandra De Groot: A distant cousin of Thomas Ashton's who lived in Africa and inherited Ashton Park after Thomas's death. She found the inheritance so daunting that she agreed to hand Ashton Park over to the National Trust in lieu of drastic death duties.
- Joe: Anna's son.
- Amy: Anna's daughter.
First Sentence edit
There was a hint of afternoon sunshine as Anna Sands and her mother Roberta stepped off their bus into Kensington High Street.
Table of Contents edit
Prologue
Evacuation 1939
Affinities 1939-1945
Back to the Old House 1946-2006
Authors & Contributors edit
- Rosie Alison (Author)
Awards edit
- Orange Prize for Fiction (Finalist, 2010)
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 813
Subjects edit
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