Book Giveaway: Miss Carter's War by Sheila Hancock

absolute gem of a book couldn,t put it down

Thank you so very much for my free copy. I have absolutely loved reading it. I didn't want to put it down. What a really enjoyable story. I was fortunate enough to listen to her speak at Dartford Grammar Girls School just a few weeks ago and now have a signed copy having been given the opportunity to speak with her and get her autograph.

Sorry it took me this long to post this, but the book was a slow starter. Having a busy schedule means that I prefer books that suck you in and take you for a ride. This didn't do that. However, that's not to say that I didn't enjoy it. I did. It took a long while to properly get into it and I would have given up and started again in the middle of summer if it wasn't for the review. Once started, however, it really was an interesting read. I love history and feminism, so I was already pleased to get this book, but after reading it I was even more pleased! I love how the history is just intertwined into the story without making it it too showy. Also, Marguerite is a brilliant antagonist! Independent and never giving up. Utterly brilliant. Although it was a bit too descriptive, so you have to be in a languid mood, not in a rush to finish anything. I've lent it to a friend of mine who I know will love it. Also, the cover! Brilliant. I love the red in it and I've seen other covers, but this is the most apt for the book.

I really enjoyed this book & felt like I knew the main characters, hence I found it very sad in parts. I enjoyed the historical aspect though it did move very fast & with very neatly tied ends. I liked the way the main character's thoughts about ageing were dealt with. All in all one of the better books I've read in ages & will be passing it onto my mother with a recommendation.

Finally finished reading my copy - I was a bit on the slow side

I found it readable, but wasn't entirely sure how I felt about this. It seemed a bit like the book was as much about getting as many of the major social / political events since the second world war covered as it was about Marguerite and her life. And the strong political message about who we should all be voting for was really hammered home very hard.

I'd recommend it to anyone interested in post second world war social history.

Have just finished the book- phew, feels like I've just run a marathon! Like previous posters have said, there is a feeling a every major social/political event being ticked off and it did take a while to get going. It's strange that so much is happening in the background yet feels like nothing that much happens in the actual plot line. Unlike a previous poster the reunion of the students didn't work for me, it felt too contrived.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and it's greatest strength is it's characters. Tony's fellow lodgers at Mrs Schneider's are worthy of their own novels. Donald is great and Tony and Marguerite's relationship is interesting and gives an unusual slant.
There is a great deal of humour to balance out some quite depressing and dark elements. I enjoyed the ending and was glad Marguerite found happiness. She definitely deserved it!

Currently reading this. - I was a little dubious at first as it was so descriptive, but once it started being more about rounded characters than exactly what they were wearing, I've started getting into it. So far, I'm finding it interesting nuanced, especially the flashbacks to the war while the characters are trying to get on with post-war 'normality.'

This is a great read and I am sure historically correct. What a strong character Marguerite is. Makes you proud to be female!! This would make a superb TV drama. Has anyone asked Sheila Hancock to be the main character?

Thank you for my free copy! I did find it a bit slow going to start, but it became more readable after the first few chapters. Agree with others about skimming through so many events, the interspersed flashbacks were an interesting factor. Have passed my copy on to my mum to read.

Thank you for my copy of Miss Carter's War. This started with real promise but did not maintain the same promise throughout (for me, anyway). The title suggests that this is based during the war, but there are are only brief flashbacks to Miss Carter's wartime activities within the main story. The "war" in question seems to be something else entirely - the various battles she has in her post-war years. This brings me to the main criticism I have of this book - the years simply fly by with only brief episodes described. The year in question is never mentioned but various newsworthy events of the day relate the time. I was disappointed with the political leanings which appeared to be demonstrated throughout the book which detracted from the story somewhat. Having said all this, it is very readable and the reader's interest is maintained throughout, though the ending was a little disappointing from my point of view.

I have now read my free copy, thank you Mumsnet. I did enjoy this book although I did find it a little long winded!
I am not sure whether spoilers are allowed on this thread, but the story definitely has similarities to The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. An immense period of history is covered from the second world war to the present day. I found the attitudes towards education and homosexuality quite interesting.
I would recommend this book but with the caveat that there is not much action, the story just plods along and to be honest I preferred her memoir of her marriage to John Thaw.

Thank you for sending me a copy of 'Miss Carter's War' which I thoroughly enjoyed. Sheila Hancock tells the story of Marguerite, an English teacher and social activist post-WW2. It was an easy read, mostly chronological with occasional flashbacks to the main character Marguerite's war-time activities for the SOE.

A key strength of the book was its interesting and engaging coverage of such an eventful period of history. I felt that the conclusion of the story was a little contrived but concede that it was necessarily so in order for Marguerite to have a happy ending!

Thanks for my free copy. I enjoyed the book, though it at times it seemed like it was checking off key social changes post war. Interspersing flashbacks of war time experiences worked really well, giving enough of a flavour of Marguerite's experiences to understand how they influenced her in the present day without going in to lots of detail. Characters were on whole engaging and believable. Would recommend

Great read. Quite nostalgic for me as 1950s schoolgirl !! Following the storyline through the decades with reference to key events was very interestingly portrayed, and I would recommend this book to anyone interested in social history from the 1940s onwards.

I have to say that I really enjoyed this book. I found it very readable and hard to put down. I thought the character of Marguerite was very likable and I really liked the flashbacks into the war times.

I really enjoyed the social commentary although the story did speed up after she started her second school. I am not sure how the author could have covered a wide range of years in more detail without making the book too big to manage but this didn't bother me as much as whoknows above. I found there were bit of the past where I thought "oh yeah - that did happen didn't it?", especially with reference to Margaret Thatcher and attitudes to HIV.

The only bit I would have liked more of what the rekindling of the relationship between her and Marcel and what the time difference did to their dynamic.

Overall I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to others.

Thanks for the free copy! I wasn't really sure what to expect from this (apologies to Sheila Hancock but I'm always cynical about famous people becoming authors) but I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the writing. I agree with a previous poster that it took me a while to get in to, but once I'd persevered I enjoyed the rest of the book.

Have now passed my copy on to my mum so hopefully she'll enjoy it too!

Read the first three chapters- finding it a little slow. But Marguerite is a likeable heroine and I think the little snippets of flashback are intriguing and add a bit of interest so I will definitely be reading on. Will post more thoughts further on!

Thank you for the book will post a review when I have read it

Thank you for my free copy ! I will post a review ASAP.

The book is a real treat to read, a bit of history with romance added in
It's suitable for all ages I have read it my mother and her sister at the moment it's with my niece so a book for generations

Thank you for my free copy of "Miss Carter's War" by Sheila Hancock.

Before reading it I thought it would be quite depressing revolving around incidents from a dour and depressing period of time. But it was incisive and thought provoking with light and shade on a number of topics that effect us all regardless of era.

Really looking forward to her next novel.

I've just finished reading my copy, thank you.

It was a little more lightweight than I had anticipated, and I have to admit that if I hadn't been reading it to review I may not have got further than the first few chapters, as the characters did not really engage me at first and the relationships with Tony and Jimmy did not quite ring true, although the introduction of Donald later on improved matters. I was also frustrated that the details of Marguerite's wartime experiences were a bit sparse. However once she moved to her second school the pace of the book picked up and I started enjoying it much more. It did feel as though the author had attempted to namecheck every single post war event of significance in the UK - it could have been a real epic, but touched upon too many subjects in not enough depth, passing through whole decades with just a quick nod to events. The closing chapters provided the necessary closure about the war, I also found the reunion with the first set of students very touching. All in all it was enjoyable but not amazing, I doubt I will re-read it.

Thank you for my free copy! I absolutely loved this book. Initially it reminded me of Sebastian Faulks wartime writing but this turned out to be just the backdrop to the main character's story as she then lives through the aftermath of the war, the failing of the comprehensive school system, the horror of homophobia, the miner's strike, drug addiction, the onset of AIDS etc which blighted the country in the following decades.

All the historical events rang true for me - I have heard similar tales from my grandmother, my aunt and my Mum and lived through some myself. I loved the vignettes of Margaret Thatcher's coming to power for example. It's a book I will re-read and, when she's old enough, pass onto my DD as I feel it really brings to life our recent history.

Thank you for sending me a copy.
I haven't read a book by her before and thought this was not only an interesting read but also kept me wanting to read on, which is a good sign for a good book.

Thank you for my copy of Miss Carter's War. Initially I thought it was going to be a reworked copy of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. However, it is very different from Spark's novel. It is simultaneously both an uplifting and depressing socio-political commentary of the second half of 20th century Britain. Moreover, it shows, through Marguerite, how we age, change and are products of those in our informative years.

I thought the brief snippets of her previous life in wartime France interspersed within the main narrative, worked really well. It gave you a glimpse of another side to Marguerite.

A little too earnest for me at times. Yet, overall an interesting and enjoyable read.