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Christmas may be the season of goodwill and festive cheer, but not for the poor of 1950s Liverpool. And for St Angelus Hospital in Lovely Lane, it is frantically busy. There are the old, the dying, the children and the emergencies.
The nurses, known locally as the Angels of Lovely Lane, are run off their feet. Dana, Beth, Pammy and Victoria hardly have time to catch their breath, let alone have a Christmas of their own.
Welcome to the district nurses' home on Steeple Street, where everyone has a secret.... Ambitious young nurse Agnes Sheridan had a promising future ahead of her until a tragic mistake cost her the love and respect of everyone around her. Now she has come to Leeds for a fresh start as a trainee district nurse. But Agnes finds herself facing unexpected challenges as she is assigned to Quarry Hill, one of the city's most notorious slums.
Three very different girls sign up as trainee nurses at a big London teaching hospital in 1934. Dora leaves her overcrowded, squalid working-class home for a better life. But has she got what it takes to keep up with other, better-educated girls? And will her hated stepfather ever let her go? Helen is born for the job; her brother is a doctor, her all-powerful mother a hospital trustee. But will Helen’s secret misery be her downfall? An aristocratic rebel, Millie’s carefree attitude will find her up in front of Matron again and again. Will she ever care enough to make a nurse? Or will she go back to the glamorous life she was born to?
Maureen Jackson is a prisoner of her father's blackmail. Three years ago, she'd been hoping to marry Rory, the man of her dreams. However, after her mother's death, Maureen was left to care for her overbearing father. Now Rory is back in London with his pregnant wife and reminds Maureen of the life that should have been hers. With the war looming, Janet Ashley hopes to marry her sweetheart Mike, but her father refuses to grant them his blessing. Janet finds herself pregnant and her mother Peggy is determined to hold her family together.
West Yorkshire, 1926. After completing her training in Steeple Street, Agnes is looking forward to making her mark as the village's first district nurse, confident she can make a difference in the locals' lives. But when she arrives, she's treated with suspicion, labelled just another servant of the wealthy mine owners. The locals would much rather place their trust in the resident healer, Nella Black.
Matron Kathleen Fox has the job of putting the hospital back together but wonders if she is up to the task. In an attempt to bring some festive cheer, she decides to put on a Christmas show. The idea is greeted with mixed feelings by the nurses, who all have their own problems, and also by the new Assistant Matron and ward sister, who find themselves rivals for the role of organiser. But as rehearsals begin, the performers begin to find the show is not just a tonic for the patients.
Christmas may be the season of goodwill and festive cheer, but not for the poor of 1950s Liverpool. And for St Angelus Hospital in Lovely Lane, it is frantically busy. There are the old, the dying, the children and the emergencies.
The nurses, known locally as the Angels of Lovely Lane, are run off their feet. Dana, Beth, Pammy and Victoria hardly have time to catch their breath, let alone have a Christmas of their own.
Welcome to the district nurses' home on Steeple Street, where everyone has a secret.... Ambitious young nurse Agnes Sheridan had a promising future ahead of her until a tragic mistake cost her the love and respect of everyone around her. Now she has come to Leeds for a fresh start as a trainee district nurse. But Agnes finds herself facing unexpected challenges as she is assigned to Quarry Hill, one of the city's most notorious slums.
Three very different girls sign up as trainee nurses at a big London teaching hospital in 1934. Dora leaves her overcrowded, squalid working-class home for a better life. But has she got what it takes to keep up with other, better-educated girls? And will her hated stepfather ever let her go? Helen is born for the job; her brother is a doctor, her all-powerful mother a hospital trustee. But will Helen’s secret misery be her downfall? An aristocratic rebel, Millie’s carefree attitude will find her up in front of Matron again and again. Will she ever care enough to make a nurse? Or will she go back to the glamorous life she was born to?
Maureen Jackson is a prisoner of her father's blackmail. Three years ago, she'd been hoping to marry Rory, the man of her dreams. However, after her mother's death, Maureen was left to care for her overbearing father. Now Rory is back in London with his pregnant wife and reminds Maureen of the life that should have been hers. With the war looming, Janet Ashley hopes to marry her sweetheart Mike, but her father refuses to grant them his blessing. Janet finds herself pregnant and her mother Peggy is determined to hold her family together.
West Yorkshire, 1926. After completing her training in Steeple Street, Agnes is looking forward to making her mark as the village's first district nurse, confident she can make a difference in the locals' lives. But when she arrives, she's treated with suspicion, labelled just another servant of the wealthy mine owners. The locals would much rather place their trust in the resident healer, Nella Black.
Matron Kathleen Fox has the job of putting the hospital back together but wonders if she is up to the task. In an attempt to bring some festive cheer, she decides to put on a Christmas show. The idea is greeted with mixed feelings by the nurses, who all have their own problems, and also by the new Assistant Matron and ward sister, who find themselves rivals for the role of organiser. But as rehearsals begin, the performers begin to find the show is not just a tonic for the patients.
London, 1938: Lizzie Larch is a 20-year-old hat maker in London's east end. She is happy and popular, but she carries a secret. Seven years ago she was viciously attacked and recovered in a private sanatorium where she miscarried a child. Lizzie has no memory of the night of the attack, but secrets cannot stay secret for too long. When she starts courting her boss' nephew, a shocking revelation surfaces; threatening to destroy their new-found happiness.
Liverpool, 1946: the blackout blinds may be coming down, but one family is about to face devastating misfortune. Dora Evans is finally marrying the love of her life, and her dreams of opening a dressmaking business look as if they might come true. With twin daughters on the way, Dora has everything she's ever wanted. But then tragedy strikes: one of Dora's babies dies in infancy, and a catastrophic fire changes their lives forever. Can Dora save herself, her marriage and her daughter?
Nineteen-year-old April Wilton has just enlisted in the WRENs in Portsmouth, where she works servicing engines on ships. She finds herself immersed in dockyard life and surrounded by soldiers - from England and America. The atmosphere is one of spontaneity and impulsiveness, brought on by the unpredictability of war. So when April meets Daniel, a young American soldier, whose mother is Sioux and father is of African descent, she doesn't hesitate when she starts to fall for him.
Kirstie Rawlings is jolted awake by a child crying. Racing upstairs to check on her newborn, she is plunged into every parents’ worst nightmare. She hears an unknown voice in the baby monitor saying, "Let’s take the child - and go." Is someone trying to steal her little girl?
Cliffehaven, May 1944. The tension is rising for Peggy Reilly and the inhabitants of Cliffehaven as the planes continue to roar above the town, and there is still no news of the long-awaited Allied invasion into France. There seems to be no end in sight of this war, which has scattered her family and brought conflict right to the door of Beach View Boarding House, but Peggy cannot work miracles, and the toll of the war is beginning to weigh on her slender shoulders.
It is 1911, and Jean is about to join the mass strike at the Singer factory. For her, nothing will be the same again. Decades later, Connie sews coded moments of her life into a notebook, as her mother did before her. More than 100 years after his grandmother's sewing machine was made, Fred unpicks the secrets of four generations, one stitch at a time.
Sisters Carol and Jackie haven't had the easiest of childhoods, but as they grow up and begin their own lives, both hope for happier times ahead. Stylish Carol works in Lewis' department store while Jackie dreams of a career on the stage. But the sisters are heartbroken when they discover they have been dating the same man, and an unexpected pregnancy causes a rift between them. As the sisters' troubles spiral, will their sisterly bond be destroyed forever?
It is 1940 and Staff Nurse Polly Brown has been granted a posting at Cliffehaven Memorial Hospital to be near her badly injured husband, Adam. But her decision has meant that she has had to part with their five-year-old daughter, Alice, who is travelling to safety in Canada. Polly's heart is torn in two as she says goodbye to Alice and heads to the Beach View boarding house, where she throws herself into her work. But as she confronts the fact that Adam may not survive his injuries, a shocking telegram arrives at Beach View.
On a June morning in 1900, Rosie Killeen crosses the road that divides her family's County Mayo farm from the estate of Lord and Lady Ennis, and makes her way to the "big house" for the first time. Barely eight years old, Rosie joins the throng of servants preparing for the arrival of Queen Victoria. But while the royal visit is a coup for Ennismore, a chance meeting on the grounds proves even more momentous for Rosie.
London, 1944. Two young nurses meet at a train station with a common purpose: to join the war effort. Scarlet longs for the chance to find her missing fiancé, Thomas, and to prove to her family - and to herself - that she's stronger than everybody thinks. Nursing is in Ellie's blood, but her humble background is vastly different from Scarlet's privileged upbringing. Though Ellie puts on a brave face, she's just as nervous as Scarlet about what awaits them in France.
February 1941. Julie Harris is working in London’s East End as a midwife when a bombing raid destroys her family and the house she grew up in. All she has left is her motherless baby nephew William. Determined to uphold her promise to her sister to keep William safe until his father, Bill, returns from the war, she accepts a post as a midwife in Cliffehaven on the south-coast of England.
Kitty has seen her fair share of tragedy and instead of thinking about romance, is determined to do her bit for King and country. Her life as a WREN means she is kept busy much of the time, but when Kitty finds herself stationed back home on Merseyside, she meets up again with Frank Feeny, the brave young officer who has always held a place in her heart. Britain is on the verge of victory, but will Kitty embrace the future and learn to love again?
It is 1953, and five girls are arriving to start their training at St Angelus Hospital. Dana has escaped from her family farm in Ireland. Victoria is running away from an aristocratic background. Beth is an army brat and throws her lot in with bitchy Celia Forsyth, and Pammy has come from the wrong side of the tracks.
When an unknown girl is admitted after a botched backstreet abortion, a tragedy begins to unfold which will rock the world of St Angelus to its foundations.
There are several appealing characters, but they are burdened with a truely soap opera-worthy plot. I wish the author had focused on the nurses training and interaction with patients, rather than the romantic entanglements. Narrator was fabulous !
5 of 6 people found this review helpful
Sweet story. Make sure you keep a notebook handy for all of the characters. after a while, you get to know them.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Would you consider the audio edition of The Angels of Lovely Lane to be better than the print version?
It might lose something in print. The readers were great
What did you like best about this story?
I could really identify with characters and era since it was the same year I went off to Nursing School. It really ook me back and the author captured the time and events well.
Things have changed so much since that time it was one of he books you laughed and cried with and for the characters.
What does Georgia Maguire bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
The feeling of really being in the time
If you could take any character from The Angels of Lovely Lane out to dinner, who would it be and why?
Donna, she was so honest and forthcoming
Any additional comments?
I hope to see more of her books soon.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Narration is wonderful, nice light little story. Brings the personalities of the characters out perfectly.
wonderful story giving an insight into the world of nursing in bygone days. the narraitor was excellent and helped me to picture each and every person
7 of 8 people found this review helpful
A gripping story you just can't stop listening to. Will definitely be listening to other books by this author
7 of 8 people found this review helpful
this book is really brilliant - didn't want it to end. it is read well. Most enjoyable.
7 of 8 people found this review helpful
Although I think I've previously read another by Nadine Dorries, this is the start of a new series, for which I've already bought the next one.
I've always enjoyed stories written from this time period and have read a few based around the Liverpool docks area.
This one in particular will stick with me for a long time, the girls in it are all well written and I enjoyed the individual introductions before they begin their training.
I also enjoyed the narration and felt that the narrator was perfectly suited, managing to change voices, accents and dialects for the various characters.
Now I'm off to start book 2!
8 of 10 people found this review helpful
Great story with many twists. It brings the world to life and transported me away. Please get the next two in the series up on audible.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful
good story to get into when going about your business i loved it cathy skely x
5 of 6 people found this review helpful
What made the experience of listening to The Angels of Lovely Lane the most enjoyable?
I would not use the word enjoyable but it was interesting how the lives and training was so much harder then when I was training. It does open your eyes how females were looked at and treated.
What was one of the most memorable moments of The Angels of Lovely Lane?
It was good is see a man standing by his girlfriend after what she had gone through!!
Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
My reactions were mixed, anger, sorrow and happiness.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful
Half way through I struggled but am glad I finshed it. It was read really well too.
6 of 8 people found this review helpful
Excellent. Made you want to keep listening. The narator did a great job with accents.
5 of 7 people found this review helpful
Only into the second chapter and already the author resorts to foul language. I was really disappointed as I trained as a nurse back in the seventies. Even then You rarely heard such foul language. I'm afraid this author is completely off my reading list.
13 of 23 people found this review helpful
Brought back memories of student nursing days in the 60's
It was a little disjointed in parts but enjoyable for a light read.
Old nurses would appreciate it.
An insightful and delightful deep dive into post war London and the lives of a handful of hopefuls learning to become nurses.
An easy to follow audio story that was both interesting and detailed enough to keep me listening to the end.
Easy to listen to. Great story. The narrator has a lovely,easy voice. The accents sound authentic and it's so easy to love the characters. I read the book too which was so enjoyable I needed to have someone read it to me.
nowhere near as good as her other books. Predictable, plotless and a rushed ending. Waste of time really