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GI Brides: The Wartime Girls Who Crossed the Atlantic for Love Kindle Edition

by Duncan Barrett (Author), Nuala Calvi (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 2,538 ratings
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This “delightful and touching” international bestseller tells the true stories of four British women who married American soldiers after WWII (Daily Mail, UK).

American soldiers stationed in the UK came away winning more than just a war, they also won the hearts of young women across Britain. At the end of World War II, more than 70,000 GI brides followed the men they’d married—men they barely knew—to begin a new life in the United States. This volume vividly recounts the stories of four such women as they made America their home.

In GI Brides, readers will meet Sylvia Bradley, a loyal, bright-eyed optimist; Rae Brewer, a resourceful, quick-witted tomboy; Margaret Boyle, an English beauty who faced down every challenge; and Gwendolyn Rowe, a brave woman ahead of her time. Though all made the bold choice to leave family and the world they knew, the journey each experienced was unique—ranging from romantic to heartbreaking.
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  1. Print length
    483 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    William Morrow Paperbacks
  5. Publication date
    September 2, 2014
  6. File size
    5950 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Beautifully rounded portraits...delightful and touching.

-- "Daily Mail (London)"

Heartbreaking yet tender...Rich in historical detail and masterfully researched.

-- "Marjorie Hart, New York Times bestselling author of Summer at Tiffany"

The love stories of four British women who married American soldiers...The authors' prose is saturated with details of life during and after the war, which brings readers into that era, when the chance to live in America meant a house of one's own, modern conveniences, and affluence. For each of these four women, the American dream didn't necessarily turn out to be glamorous...Alternating among the women, the authors bring to light the joys and sorrows of each woman.

-- "Kirkus Reviews"

From the Back Cover

They left everything behind to follow their hearts. . . . True stories that illuminate the experiences of British war brides in America after World War II

American soldiers stationed in the UK came away winning more than just a war, they also won the hearts of young women across Britain. At the end of World War II, more than 70,000 GI brides followed the men they'd married—men they barely knew—to begin a new life in the United States. Meet four of these women:

Sylvia Bradley, a loyal, bright-eyed optimist
Rae Brewer, a resourceful, quick-witted tomboy
Margaret Boyle, an English beauty who faced down every challenge
Gwendolyn Rowe, a brave woman ahead of her time

Though all made the bold choice to leave family and the world they knew, the journey each experienced was unique—ranging from romantic to heartbreaking.

Fascinating and unforgettable, GI Brides pays homage to these brave women, propelled by love and hope, who embarked on an adventure that would change their lives.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00H7LZVUO
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ William Morrow Paperbacks (September 2, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 2, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5950 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 483 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 2,538 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Duncan Barrett

    Duncan Barrett

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Duncan Barrett is a writer and editor, specialising in biography and memoir. He grew up in London and studied English at Jesus College, Cambridge. In 2010 he edited the First World War memoirs of pacifist saboteur Ronald Skirth, published as The Reluctant Tommy. He is co-author, with Nuala Calvi, of a trio of Sunday Times Top 10 bestsellers: The Sugar Girls, which was ranked second in the history bestsellers of 2012, GI Brides, which was also a New York Times bestseller in America, and The Girls Who Went to War. His first solo title, Men of Letters: The Post Office Heroes Who Fought the Great War, was nominated for the People's Book Prize. His second, Hitler’s British Isles (aka When The Germans Came) was published in 2018.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Nuala Calvi

    Nuala Calvi

    Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Nuala Calvi is the co-author of Sunday Times bestsellers The Sugar Girls and GI Brides. She also works as a journalist and has written for the BBC, CNN, The Guardian, The Times, The Independent, The Express and Time Out guides.

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
2,538 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Janet K. Schwartzkopf
5.0 out of 5 stars A Story Told with Love
Reviewed in the United States on January 31, 2017
Verified Purchase
I really loved this book. While the stories of the four brides featured in its pages could easily have dissolved into soap opera at times, the narrative was such that I really felt for these women put down in a strange place with men they didn't know very well. And, sadly, not all the marriages worked out, although in the end it seemed all had hammered out pretty decent lives for themselves. As someone old enough to have gone to school with the children of war brides, it also makes me wonder how they found my small Wisconsin home town.

While being caught up in the lives of these women, it was also an eye-opener for me in terms of life in the U.S. in the early post-war years. It provided a different look at family life and the role of women within it as people sought to return to the "normal" they had known before World War II. As a baby boomer, I missed a great deal of that. I found the one bride's battle with polio particularly gripping, even as it gave me an education on what being struck by this disease that has now all-but-disappeared meant.

To learn at the end that the co-author is the granddaughter of one of the brides chronicled (I won't say which one) was icing on the cake. What an amazing thing to learn about your own grandmother. Not only is it a story well-told, but in the end it's a story told with love, as well. This is a book that mixes a little history and a little romance, and it's a great book to talk about with girl friends, regardless of their ages.
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Colleen T.
4.0 out of 5 stars GI Brides
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2015
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I just love WWII history! There is such an amalgamation of beauty and romance, horror and desolation that I seem to be transfixed with these stories no matter what angle they take. In GI Brides we get another interesting angle (and one I haven't read yet): that of the English women who fell in love with the American men that flooded their shores and that left behind everything to follow these men to a country they knew so little about. What makes this story that much better is the fact that it's all true!

GI Brides shares the experiences of four English women during the war and after as they moved to America with their G.I.s. Each chapter concentrates on one woman's story and the chapters alternate between women. I was impressed with how well the stories flowed together, showing the similarities within each storyline as well as how each woman's situation was unique, and it really read more like a novel than what I've experienced with more bland, facts-driven nonfiction (which is a good thing!). What I enjoyed most of all was the fact that the stories weren't sugar-coated to give "happily ever after" situations. These women sacrificed a huge amount, leaving behind everything they had to follow these men they really didn't know very well. None of the men were exactly who they said they were and these women had to face the realities of men suffering with alcoholism, gambling addiction, overbearing families and even infidelity. What I was left with was a remarkable appreciation for what these women endured and how they never gave up on working for the life they wanted for themselves and their children (if they had any), whether that was with these G.I.s or not. These women were survivors.

My biggest complaint with G.I. Brides isn't really the story but the narrator of the audiobook (I switched back and forth between the Kindle version and the Audible version). While she did a good job of guiding the story along with her inflections and pacing she didn't really distinguish much between the various characters' voices. While I know it would be incredibly difficult to differentiate between this many people I have heard it done before and, for the most part, the women all sounded the same and the men all sounded the same. I will also say that there are some delightful pictures of the women and their families, which I very much enjoyed, but they were lumped all together at the end of the eBook. I would have preferred them disbursed throughout when the actual people were being discussed so I could visualize them while reading, not after I was finished.

I think G.I Brides does a wonderful job of giving a well rounded look at what these English women gained and lost by following their hearts to America. It isn't overly romanticized or exaggerated, it is real life with all its ups and downs. I would probably recommend the print version if you are like me and love having pictures throughout showing the people being discussed (I assume the print version does this), but if this isn't an issue for you I would highly recommend getting the story whichever way you can. I look forward to reading more about G.I. brides and that's because of what I learned here.
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Deb B.
3.0 out of 5 stars Good read but was a bit confusing as they told ...
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2015
Verified Purchase
Good read but was a bit confusing as they told four separate stories in separate chapters throughout the book. Interesting facts mingled with some fiction kept my interest. I would have preferred reading each woman's full story separately since none of the wives' lives intertwined and remembering each story line throughout the book was sometimes challenging. I too thought that with 60 women interviewed, a better account of happy endings could have been just as good a read.
2 people found this helpful
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Coloradoan
5.0 out of 5 stars This book was amazing, would I pay $10
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2015
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This book was amazing, would I pay $10.99 for it? No, thankfully I got it when it was $1.99 and was instantly gripped from start to finish. Could not put it down...even (sadly) while at work hahaha! But I thoroughly enjoyed this book! This book gives a great insight to the 4 War Brides of WWII. However it almost rings true today. Not saying that the young men and women of my generation that served/ are serving went to England and fell in love and then came back to the US with new brides, but many young men and women married before leaving for war and the wives and husbands ended up in almost the same positions of these women. Young and not really knowing the men and women they married before they left. Trust me, I would know.
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Top reviews from other countries

nicki howells
5.0 out of 5 stars Well worth reading
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 4, 2013
Verified Purchase
Being fascinated with WW2 I snapped this book up when I saw it,as it is an area of the war that doesn't really get much mention. At first I thought it was fictitious,and when I was reading the epilogue I thought how wonderful that the authors had carried on the story to the present day, then I realised, it hadn't been a work of fiction.....not entirely.....I didn't feel too silly now knowing that the tears I'd shed while reading it were actually shed for real,events!!

The book is very well written,very descriptive, and gives the reader a journey from highs to lows and back to highs again. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, and it makes you very proud!!

I love how each of the brides had their own section,just about them,then it moved to the next one,then came back to each of them in turn. The hardships they faced being stuck in a strange country, with husbands that they barely knew,and it wasn't all plain sailing for them, but they showed just how strong that generation of British women really were.

It must have been very hard for all of them to recount their lives,especially the dark times, but i hope that they feel some sense of pride now they have told their story. Thank you ladies xxx
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daphne whiten
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in Canada on November 6, 2014
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Good story.Easy read.
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Lucy
4.0 out of 5 stars very good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 11, 2015
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Having had an aunt who was a GI bride I have always been interested in the lives of these young women who fell in love with the American servicemen stationed here in WW2. I often heard my mum say her sister had been 'one of the lucky ones' in that she had a happy marriage. This book covers the experiences of several war brides, I did find it annoying at first that it chops and changes between each character and found myself trying to remember who was who. But as I continued to read I began to know each bride and who she married etc. some were 'lucky ones', others were not so lucky. I used to think it must have been very romantic being whisked over to America and starting a new life, which is how these girls' stories began. On reading further it became apparent that for some their hopes were slashed as they settled to life with their new husbands. I particularly liked the epilogue as it told us what happened to each of the women instead of leaving me wondering how things turned out for them.
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Sharon
5.0 out of 5 stars GI Brides
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2019
Verified Purchase
Such a wonderful book. As well as telling 4 touching stories I felt that I learnt such a lot about how life was mapped out for these ladies and how love really does rule the heart and mind. Not always having the desired happy ending but opening up a world that otherwise would never have been explored. Thank You for sharing these stories. It was also lovely being able to see pictures of these people that I feel I now know so well by visiting
gibrides.com
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Rosemary Atkinson
3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
Reviewed in Canada on January 25, 2017
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It was a good read. Following the lives of these gals was very interesting and heartbreaking by times.
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