A Christmas Gift

A Christmas Gift
Ruby Jackson

The third in a series of books featuring four young women whose lives will be forever changed by WWII. Perfect for fans of Katie Flynn.As the daughter of the local cinema manager, Sally Brewer has always dreamed of stardom. When she gets offered a theatre job in London, any fancy notions she has are quickly dashed when faced with the reality of long hours with no prospect of a speaking part.But all of this goes out of Sally’s mind once the nightly hail of German bombs start to rain down on London. She joins the newly-formed ENSA, the Entertainments National Service Association and is soon raising morale all over the bombed-out city – there is little time for love.One night, Sally discovers a valuable ring sewn into the lining of a cloak. Intrigued, she tracks down the owner – a Naval Officer called Jonathan – but they barely have time to get to know each other before he is recalled to sea. Then Sally gets the terrible news that his ship has been destroyed. With only the ring to remember him by, can Sally face the future without the man she loves?

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First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2014

Copyright © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2014

Cover photography by Henry Steadman (woman); Other photographs © Monty Fresco/Getty Images (child); Carl Mydans/Getty Images (snow); Alamy (fir trees); Shutterstock (all other images)

Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2014

Ruby Jackson 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, downloaded, 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: 9780007506316

Ebook Edition © October 2014 ISBN: 9780007506330

Version: 2014-09-19

This book is for my American sisters, Susan A, Trisha S, and Holly McG

Contents

Cover (#u8609a671-7898-5e6e-8b6a-080a149cae26)

Title Page (#u014e96a8-3ca7-5232-9489-b67d16723471)

Copyright (#u4dfe9a3f-8bb9-57dd-bd16-e37f29226585)

Dedication (#u3aaa6f5f-7b64-588b-9d76-1e9154324d3b)

Chapter One (#ub2211f30-64b0-5740-ab7a-2f2417b6b44d)

Chapter Two (#u441fb493-1e49-5186-a407-c62993476f0a)

Chapter Three (#uc5d07499-fda9-53c1-948a-9e7c46fc0edd)

Chapter Four (#ub7f27d02-6843-5803-b0f3-485b6276673f)

Chapter Five (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Six (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight (#litres_trial_promo)

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)

Chapter Twenty (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twenty One (#litres_trial_promo)

Acknowledgements (#litres_trial_promo)

Churchill’s Angels ad (#litres_trial_promo)

Wave Me Goodbye ad (#litres_trial_promo)

Churchill’s Angels Extract (#litres_trial_promo)

W6 Book Cafe (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)