The Restless Sea

The Restless Sea
Vanessa de Haan

‘The sure-footedness of a pro, an amazing debut’ Jeffrey ArcherAbsorbing and richly observed, THE RESTLESS SEA is a masterful story of the turbulent years of the Second World War.Three lives collide in a way that only the war makes possible…Jack, a child of the Blitz, has fled the law to become a seaman in the Merchant Navy. The frozen world of the Russian Arctic convoys may be harsh, but it opens his eyes to a new life.While on leave in the Navy’s secret Scottish harbour, Jack meets Olivia, the cossetted daughter of an officer family. Free to roam, Olivia relishes the new freedom granted by war. But her family – and especially the well-connected Charlie, now a fast-rising pilot – don’t welcome these changes. Least of all the arrival of Jack, the boy who casts doubt on each of their futures.The war inflicts danger and social upheaval like never before. But the most unlikely friendships are forged in times when people live like they don’t want tomorrow to come…

Copyright (#u63a52a62-342e-5051-9a05-0d67ffaaa350)

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

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

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2018

Copyright © Vanessa de Haan 2018

Cover photographs © Mark Owen/Trevillion Images (seascape); © Shutterstock.com (https://www.shutterstock.com) (letter and plane)

Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018

Vanessa de Haan 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.

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Source ISBN: 9780008245764

Ebook Edition © April 2018 ISBN: 9780008229818

Version: 2018-01-23

Dedication (#u63a52a62-342e-5051-9a05-0d67ffaaa350)

To my weird, wonderful and extensive family

– you know who you are –

and to Amelia Grace Jessel, in memory.

Table of Contents

Cover (#u9aedbb8b-f7b3-51b7-9ae5-3911f490a2e1)

Title Page (#udac4641f-a1dc-5194-b994-9d94dd234484)

Copyright (#u085afa8c-bec2-5d1f-995c-bcc6144d1af0)

Dedication (#ua03e2ea9-bd30-5813-b285-f2d00d0ad54b)

Hymn (#u5a9962c7-d06f-5cff-9f8f-0b45dd66829d)

Prologue (#u38a20c96-f856-5b49-977f-2e361218338e)

Chapter 1: Jack (#u47a4021b-2e83-5a16-b7d1-4635968ac0cf)

Chapter 2 (#u7de59ea6-703a-5b2c-8b19-f91396aaf49e)

Chapter 3: Charlie (#ufc2cc261-6ef8-56d0-8f85-e20a9a53c859)

Chapter 4 (#u2e95ba9e-7ad2-515d-9f51-6efe776d6510)

Chapter 5: Olivia (#ud90538cd-fc2b-5158-9103-2c5a8fe60e9b)

Chapter 6 (#u1b16b6f3-8c34-54a6-ad43-dd001b52ff65)

Chapter 7 (#u2eeba6ea-fa17-5b4c-8823-921eb5fb5a05)

Chapter 8: Jack (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10: Charlie (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 12: Olivia (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 14: Charlie (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 15: Olivia (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 16: Jack (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 17: Charlie (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 18: Jack (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 19: Olivia (#litres_trial_promo)