Rosie’s War

Rosie’s War
Kay Brellend

A compelling wartime drama from the author of The Street, perfect for fans of Pam Weaver and Kitty Neale.Rosie Gardiner is having a tough war. She’s had to leave her job as a nude at the Windmill in Soho after a horrific assault which left her pregnant, and is now living back at home with her recently remarried dad. Despite her best efforts, Rosie and her dad just can’t get along and the strain of coping as a young unmarried mother is getting to her.As the Nazis strafe the city with V2 bombs, Rosie is determined to keep her head up through the Blitz but when a direct hit to her street cripples her father, it feels like the days have never been darker. With a final burst of resolution, John Gardiner decides to leave London to escape the bombardment and to Rosie’s mixed horror and relief, he takes her baby with him. Left alone in the East End, with the spectre of the man who assaulted her rearing his ugly head, Rosie decides to join the London Auxiliary Ambulance Service to keep her busy – and to give her hope in these tough times.

Copyright (#u6ea850f4-5fc7-5a18-b4a9-14062a3abf77)

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

The News Building

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2016

Copyright © Kay Brellend 2016

Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2016

Photography by Henry Steadman

Other cover photographs © Alamy (children); Shutterstock.com (http://shutterstock.com/) (street scene)

Kay Brellend asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780007575305

Ebook Edition © January 2016 ISBN: 9780007575312

Version: 2015-11-03

Dedication (#u6ea850f4-5fc7-5a18-b4a9-14062a3abf77)

This book is dedicated to all the unsung heroes who served in the London Auxiliary Ambulance Service (LAAS) during the Second World War.

Equally for the volunteers who served in other cities during the conflict.

Not forgotten.

Also, for Mum and Dad.

Table of Contents

Cover (#ucb0d6acb-4ee6-56f1-b9d4-4160161bb00e)

Title Page (#u43f3ea01-54ae-50cb-bbb3-2f7cc7bb95de)

Copyright (#ub123bcd2-7221-58e5-9dcc-585170b0544a)

Dedication (#u6f752cc2-c4c9-5cfa-a1cd-5740ed0bdcaf)

Prologue (#u02098a91-8b7b-503f-9a47-d7afbef1434c)

Chapter One (#u09c3f056-b5a0-5a74-a1bd-04cfa2806e1f)

Chapter Two (#ub9081168-14fb-535d-922c-b9b943e8fb66)

Chapter Three (#u839c2632-de22-5fe1-985d-4a4906753be9)

Chapter Four (#ue653d4be-7ded-5eae-80f3-c56240973b7a)

Chapter Five (#u61587aa1-73ae-54ae-b064-211be21d1dd9)

Chapter Six (#u65f0a57f-a2c7-5cfa-ba02-aa23da8e5890)

Chapter Seven (#ub42030a5-c513-5455-ad97-d7b91f545965)

Chapter Eight (#u6c12d952-c82e-5a74-95e6-d81d569885ca)

Chapter Nine (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eighteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nineteen (#litres_trial_promo)