Author: Caroline Beecham
ISBN: 978-1-76029-566-0
RRP: $29.99
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Copy: Courtesy of the Publisher
Eleanor’s Secret is the sophomore novel of bestselling author Caroline Beecham, also set in war-torn London in 1942. I had big plans to have this one read and reviewed ready for the post to go live today but my strong start to the month fizzled quick. I have started reading it, and hope to have a complete review this week.
Caroline Beecham returns to London in 1942 where Eleanor Roy, art school graduate, is working for the War Artist Advisory Committee. Her dream is to become one of the few female war artists but breaking into the art establishment is still easier dreamed than done.
Eleanor is working with the Ministry of Food to organise artworks to decorate the British Restaurants that are keeping the citizens fed and aiming to help with morale. One of the artists she is sent to sign is Jack Valante, who won’t sign the contract and when Eleanor returns to try again he seems to have disappeared.
This novel is a dual timeline narrative with a compelling love story and a surprising mystery. The dual timeline is a great storytelling tool when you have a mystery to unfold.
Fast forward to Melbourne in 2010 and Kathryn has been asked by her grandmother, Eleanor, to help her return a painting to its artist in London. The search unearths a long held family secret and Kathryn is left trying to decide whether she races straight home to address the issues in her own immediate family or stay and help protect the past.
Caroline Beecham writes well researched and authentic historical tales that draw you right into the London she describes. I quite enjoyed Maggie’s Kitchen and I can’t wait to really sink myself into Eleanor’s Secret.
Caroline Beecham can be followed on CarolineBeecham.com and Twitter.
Eleanor’s Secret is published by Allen & Unwin and is available now through Angus & Robertson Bookworld, Booktopia and where all good books are sold.
Thanks to Allen & Unwin 50 of our Beauty and Lace Club Members will be reading Eleanor’s Secret so please be aware there may be spoilers in the comments below.
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
Thanks to Allen and Unwin and Beauty and Lace for giving me this book to read.
I loved Maggie’s Kitchen and learning things I never knew about the war. So I was excited to see that Caroline Beecham had written another book.
Eleanor’s Secret is just as exciting. It was a slow read for me as there is so much to learn while reading this book. So many new and interesting things to learn about the war and the way people lived and the things they saw and had to go through each day.
So lets get to the story.
We start in 1942 when Eleanor is working for the Ministry of Food and is going around London trying to sign up artists. Their paintings are needed to decorate restaurants and food places around England to add some warmth and happiness to the darkness of war.
One day while out and about doing this part of her job she sees Jack Valante and he is on her list of recruits to sign up. This begins her interest and Jack both for his work and of course her personal interest in him 😉
We join Eleanor as she goes about her daily tasks in the Ministry of Food and her home life with her sister Cecily and how their life plays out living in London during the war.
Now we come to London and its 2010 and Katherine has arrived as per request her grandmother Eleanor.
Eleanor needs Katherine’s help to find Jack and return his painting to him. Katherine has made the trek from Australia to help her grandmother and the other side to the story begins from here.
The story bounces back between and forth from Eleanor in 1942 and Katherine and Eleanor in2010.
Interestingly as the story unfolds through the time line more hints and clues are given as to what they outcome may be. Through the story line we learn so much more and Eleanor and Jack and what happens to their love story.
There are so many interesting bits throughout the story and I enjoyed so much how Caroline had placed war facts and historical moments in the story for you as a reader to uncover and enjoy.
This is why to me it was slow as it was all just so amazing that I didn’ t want to miss one bit of it.
Eleanor’s Secret certainly is a secret and one that will take you a while to uncover but it is all worth it in the end.
What is it? Sorry it’s secret
Thanks for the opportunity to read Eleanor’s Secret by Caroline Beecham.
Within a few chapters I was engrossed in the dual story lines of Eleanor past, set in London in 1942 and her granddaughter in Melbourne in 2010.
I love a good multi generation story, especially one with intrigue, complexity and family secrets.
Eleanor worked as for the War Artists Advisory Council. I had never thought about an artists and the role they played in war. I enjoyed the artists perspective and descriptions of war time London and learning about the role artists had to play in preserving the cultural artefacts, increasing the morale of the population through beauty and also maintaining a record of wartime events.
Kathryn, Eleanor’s granddaughter, is summoned to London to assist her grandmother solve a mystery involving the disappearance of her grandmothers first, true love during the way. Her grandmother is elusive and seems unwilling to pass on the information that would assist Kathryn in her search. Kathryn is torn between the duty to her husband and child back at home and the need to assist provide closure to her grandmother.
The book was an enjoyable read which I would highly recommend.
Thanks to Allen & Unwin and Beauty and Lace for the chance to read my first novel by Caroline Beecham.
What I enjoyed most about this book was all the little bits I learnt about the war. I was unaware that artists played such a big part in it before reading this book!
I enjoyed her writing style and felt transported back in time with the characters. The book itself looks and feels great and is definitely something I would pick off the shelves to read (Yes I often judge a book by its cover sadly!)
All in all a good novel and I will be looking up her other book Maggie’s Kitchen.
Thankyou Beautyandlace and Allan&unwin for the opportunity to read Eleanor’s Secret by Caroline Beecham.
I found this book a little slow to get started,beginning in 1942 Elenor is a young girl living in London during the war,a struggling artist working for the government trying to place artistic articles and moral boosting painting in the public building and restaurants around London. On one of these excursion she comes across Jack another painter but from then I felt that Jack had secrets of his own. Elenor longs to be a war artist on the battle front which women are almost unknown to do.
The story then skips to 2010 and Kathryn living in Australia gets a letter from her grandmother Elenor asking her to come to London to find the artist of a painting she has in her possession. The painting had been painted by Jack and now his family want it returned to finish a collection. Katherine,whose marriage is at the moment unstable takes this opportunity to go away to London to help her grandmother. But there is much Elenor is not revealing about her youth and Kathryn is fighting to put the pieces together, while still apart from her husband and son. There is a lot more to Eleanor’s story that Kathryn must dig out before she can find out what happened to Jack..
An enjoyable read with much to learn about London and it’s people during the war.
A very enjoyable read that contains beautiful writing and really interesting subject matter.
I enjoyed the multi generational aspect and learning how the family had evolved over the years.
I believe Historical fiction is great genre as it makes us consider circumstances very different to our own. I always feel that the reader can be educated in some way via these types of novels. For me this holds particularly true. The role of war artists was truly fascinating.
A great read and I will be recommending this to my family & friends.
Eleanor’s Secret by Caroline Beecham
Two story lines on dual timeline. A love story during the time of war and another love story fighting its own battle.
Eleanor’s is an artist during a time when women weren’t treated equally. Working for the War Artists Advisory she thought would bring her a step closer to realising her dream of being a war artist yet somehow it pushed it even further away. What it did bring was meeting the love of her life Jack. Both sharing a love of art and family their love story is passionate yet short lived after Jack is sent away to the front line to capture the war through his pictures.
Fast forward to 2010, Eleanor’s grandaughter Katherine is battling her own love story. Her marriage. Does she stay or does she leave. Embarking on a adventure to Australia to help unravel the mystery of Jack and Eleanor Katherine finds not only the answers for her grandmother but also the answers for her own life.
A little slow to start, but once you’re in, you’re in! A beautiful story written that truly makes the reader digest life in wartimes, true love and how much life has changed over time.
Thank you Beauty and lace for another great book!
Eleanor’s Secret by Caroline Beecham is a story told in two eras the 1942 war years and 2010 and jumps back and forth between them. The main characters are Eleanor and Jack. Both are artists, Jack a War artist and Eleanor who would like to be. But unfortunately for Eleanor it is not possible to be a war artist as it is not a place for women in the thick of action this is when Eleanor joins the War Artist Advisory Committee to hopefully fulfil her dream. During her time at the WAAC Eleanor falls in love with Jack, who is then posted overseas, but Eleanor does not know that Jack is more than a war artist. Time goes by and Jack just disappears out of Eleanor’s life.
We move to 2010 where Eleanor asks her granddaughter Kathryn if she would help her return a painting to London. Kathryn goes to London from Australia to help her grandmother return the painting but whilst there uncovers a long unknown family secret
The story is full of mystery, history, intrigue and love.
The story gives the reader a real feel for the turmoil and hardship faced during the war.
I always enjoy a good love story also filled with mystery and highly recommend.
Caroline Beecham has written a beautifully entwined passed and present life story of Eleanor and her family. The war effort, the effect on society, families, jobs, culture and conscious. People changed their lives to accommodate the new ways established during the war. Eleanor, Cecily, Jack, Katheryn, Chris and Oli all shine light on how we deal with family history, stress, anxiety, changes in environment, culture and mysteries we face when we dig into the past.
Eleanor is an amazing character of strength and dignity. Jack, with his own investment in the war, his mother and sister and his need to provide for his family. They met though Eleanors work but their lives take them in different directions within the war effort.
Caroline writes beautifully about the struggles we face, the choices we make and the outcome on the future on so many different lives. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Eleanor’s Secret, i loved reading back and forth between past and present and the differences we face between past and present.
I loved Eleanor’s Secret! The dual storyline was a great tool for unravelling the mystery between Eleanor and Jack. The writing was visually descriptive and engrossing, and contrasting beautifully between London in WWII and the modern London of today. I enjoyed learning of another aspect of the war, with Eleanor’s work in the Ministry of Food and the artists of that era. A beautiful tale of family and courage!
An enjoyable read.
Eleanor’s Secret is the story of Eleanor and her grand-daughter, Kathryn. In 1942, Eleanor is struggling to make it into the male dominated world of war artists. We find out about the challenges she faced to make this dream a reality, as well as the heartache she endures. In 2010, Kathryn flies from Australia to England to help her grandmother uncover a mystery surrounding the disappearance of her close friend, but in doing so, Kathryn unravels a startling secret Eleanor held for almost a lifetime.
The relationship between grandmother and granddaughter is explored beautifully and the reader is transformed from past to present expertly throughout the novel. This is a mystery / historical romance novel and is one that I thoroughly recommend. Thank you Beauty and Lace for this wonderful opportunity.