Tags
Boston (Mass), children, evacuation of civilians, families, Great Britain, historical fiction, World War 1939-1945
As World War II begins, a young English girl is sent to live in Boston for her own safety. She forms close bonds with her adoptive family, but knows she’ll return to London and her parents eventually. Following these characters over several years and countries, this is a beautifully written story with a New England connection.
“What a wonderful novel! I loved Beatrix as a girl, discovering America, and perhaps even more as a young woman, back in post-war London. Spence-Ash writes with such insight about her characters on both sides of the Atlantic and she is a mistress of suspense. I was deeply sorry to reach the last page.”―Margot Livesey, author of The Boy in the Field
“A young’s woman’s family loyalties are divided as she leaves her London home for Boston during WWII in Spence-Ash’s magnetic debut… Readers will be riveted.”―Publishers Weekly, STARRED Review
“This gorgeous novel, about the profound impact on children and families of even the most benign forms of displacement, marks the debut of a very gifted writer. I adored Laura Spence-Ash’s characters and deeply admired her precise, resonant prose. Beyond That, the Sea is a marvel.”―Ann Packer, author of The Dive from Clausen’s Pier and The Children’s Crusade

