In Picardy's Fields

Prequel to The Diamond Courier

De: Hannah Byron

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

In Picardy’s Fields: the WW1 historical fiction romance that introduces the heroines destined to shine in WW2.

France, 1918

Step back to WWI’s turbulent battlegrounds where two extraordinary women rise to the occasion.

Agnès de Saint-Aubin, a Parisian baroness turned trailblazing battlefield surgeon, teams up with American doctor Alan Bell. Amidst the chaos of German control at Château de Dragoncourt war hospital in Picardy, Agnès hides a secret that endangers her loved ones.

Countess Madeleine de Dragoncourt ditches her aristocratic life to launch a perilous mission to rescue her family’s château from enemy captivity. Much to the dislike and admiration of British Major Gerald Hamilton.

But this is just the beginning. 'In Picardy's Fields' sets the stage for 'The Resistance Girl Series.' Their daughters, born of courage and sacrifice, take center stage in WWII Europe. From France to Norway, Holland to Britain, these women rewrite history through their valor.

Meticulously researched and deeply embedded in historical facts, The Resistance Girl Series seamlessly weaves together fiction with historical facts.

While the series is interconnected, each book can be read as a standalone, offering a unique perspective on the incredible feats of these resilient women.

Delve into the world of love, courage, and sacrifice now, and continue the journey that spans generations.

WWI - The Mothers of the Resistance

I belong to a women’s book club that’s reading Hannah Byron’s Resistance Girls series this year, but because of work and a commute, I didn’t have time to read the first two books. I was thrilled when the Audible versions were released in time for the March meeting. I promptly listened to Book 3 “The Parisian Spy” (we all liked it, especially the way it made WWII Paris a real place) and then I started at the beginning with “In Picardy’s Fields.”

Picardy is set in WWI France. A very young surgeon Agnès is mentored by an American physician Alan Bell. They run a surgical hospital in a château, converted into wartime use. I like the way the author discusses the medical procedures in use in 1918, and the inevitable loss of life caused by infection (antibiotics were discovered a decade later). Madeline, a member of the aristocratic family who has lived in the château for centuries, is an ambulance diver who helps wrest control of the hospital away from the Germans who occupied it towards the end of the war.

There were several shocking turns in the book, and I liked that it wasn’t predictable. I did get my little heart unexpectedly broken early on.

There was a monkey in the book that I found distracting, but it wasn’t so off putting it made me stop the listen.

The narration - well, it’s an automated voice. It’s a pleasant voice, but there are issues. It’s inconsistent in pronouncing names, and Agnès was one of them. And sometimes, it just says the wrong word - once it was the word whole, but read with an ‘r’ where the ‘l’ is. That misspeak yanked me right out of the story and back to my real life.

I’m off to the next listen, “The Diamond Courier.”