HAVING written several popular memoirs about her life, her relationship with her husband John Thaw and about life after widowhood, Sheila Hancock has now turned her pen to her first novel.
Her memoirs proved she could write, but can she invent a narrative and tell a story? Miss Carter's War is an episodic novel that follows the sweep of history from the Second World War through to Mrs Thatcher and the poll tax riots, taking in the Swinging 60s on the way.
After her experiences in the resistance in the Second World War in France, Miss Carter wants a new start and to influence young minds for the better.
She forges a friendship with another teacher, and they try to battle against the difficult circumstances of some of their less fortunate pupils.
They are politically engaged and want to change the world. There are some real people in the book - forward-thinkers about teaching or addiction, and this feels like Hancock nailing her social justice principles to the wall - but at no time does it feel preachy.
Miss Carter's War isn't just about the impact of her time in WWII, but her war against standing by and doing nothing to make the world a better place.
It is a very human book, showing the impact that life and its vagaries has on us - for good and ill - and the impact we can have on others.
8/10
Review by Bridie Pritchard
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