Mothering Sunday

Mothering Sunday takes place on a single day in March 1924, a day off for all the servants, including Jane Fairchild, although as a foundling she has no mother to go home to. The novella revolves around the affair Jane has with soon-to-be-married Paul Sheringham, the only remaining son of the neighbouring family, and heir to their estate. The writing is imbued with a sense of loss, of time warping and wavering, of what-would-have-beens, and conveys the difficulties faced by those who had to carry on in the wake of the Great War. 

Sometimes you just need a slow-paced and exquisitely written book to disappear into and admire, and Mothering Sunday is one of those for me. Every word has been carefully chosen, every moment perfectly honed to its purpose, and the dawning realization of where the story is heading is packed full of the anguish and deep sorrow of its time (immediately post WW1). It is a beautiful book and a sad book, but it is not without hope and conveys perfectly to me a sense of acceptance and the need for resilience.