My Dear I Wanted to Tell You
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On Sale:
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20/05/2011
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Formats:
Trade paperback | E-Book
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From the day in 1907 that eleven-year-old Riley Purefoy meets Nadine Waveney, he takes in the difference between their two families -- his, working class; hers, posh and artistic -- and vows to make himself worthy of the lovely Nadine’s affections. Nadine’s mother has other ideas for her daughter. Though she tolerates Riley as a young boy, nearly a decade later she attempts to stop the budding romance between the two teenagers. Angry and humiliated, Riley enlists at the nearest recruiting station, and reports for training the very next day. While Riley and his commanding officer, Peter Locke, fight for their country and their survival in the trenches of Flanders, their loved ones await their return. Peter’s wife, Julia, undertakes a daily ritual to prepare for her beloved husband’s homecoming. Peter’s cousin Rose, with all hope of marriage marching off to war, becomes a nurse at the nearby Queen’s Hospital. Nadine and Riley’s bond is tested by a terrible injury, and even more so by the ambitious yet imperfect rehabilitation that follows. Moving between Ypres, London and Paris, My Dear I Wanted to Tell You is a stunning First World War epic of love, war and sacrifice.
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Author Extras
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Critical Praise for
My Dear I Wanted to Tell You
"An epic love story, a grim war chronicle, a class study, a heartwarming tale of overcoming...Young’s page-turner has Masterpiece Classic written all over it...Young, a graceful and light-handed writer, offers a powerful account of war...A literate, moving wartime tale in which love triumphs over despair."
- Kirkus Reviews
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"Singular in quality...an unsensationalized and thoughtful story of English class, world war, and that universal constant—love."
- Publishers Weekly
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"Uplifting and emotional...Birdsong for the new millennium."
- Tatler
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"The horror of First World War trenches and the lives of the loved ones left behind are masterfully conveyed."
- Woman and Home
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"Weaving heartbreakingly painful irony, heroic sacrifice, human weakness, vanity, tragedy and the purest of loves, you’ll be left sobbing and grasping onto any hope that all is not lost amid the poppies, guns and hospital beds."
- Easy Living
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"An expertly woven tale of love and loss through the horrors of World War One."
- Psychologies Magazine
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"An inventive World War One love story buzzing with cinematic dialogue....Full of drama, betrayal and addictive real-life detail."
- Red
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"A testament to the frailty and heart of mankind, Louisa Young's My Dear I Wanted to Tell You vividly paints an intimate portrait of life on the home front and battlefields during the First World War."
- Cathy Marie Buchanan, author of The Day the Falls Stood Still
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"At the heart of My Dear I Wanted to Tell You are an irresistible hero and heroine: the passionate, ambitious, strong-minded Riley and Nadine. How their lives are transformed—literally and figuratively—by the First World War makes for a surprisingly suspenseful and tender novel. I was enraptured by these pages."
- Margot Livesey, author of The House on Fortune Street
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"This novel is a triumph."
- Elizabeth Jane Howard, author of The Cazalet Chronicles
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"A memorable and unusual novel which explores new ground in the literature of the Great War."
- Linda Grant, author of The Clothes on Their Backs and When I Lived in Modern Times
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"Many writers have set out to describe war’s dark, lingering shadow; few have truly succeeded. In this story of lives torn apart by the horror of the Great War, where even the soul struggles to rise amid the detritus of battle, Louisa Young proves herself to be one of those writers, and she has told this story very, very well."
- Jacqueline Winspear, author of A Lesson in Secrets
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"As terrifying as it is brilliant, My Dear I Wanted to Tell You is not a book you pick up lightly. It takes you down one of the darkest passages of human experience and does not ease its grip until you emerge, profoundly enriched, on the other side. I was spellbound from page one and remain utterly enthralled."
- Anne Fortier, author of Juliet
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My Dear I Wanted to Tell You
From the day in 1907 that eleven-year-old Riley Purefoy meets Nadine Waveney, he takes in the difference between their two families -- his, working class; hers, posh and artistic -- and vows to make himself worthy of the lovely Nadine’s affections. Nadine’s mother has other ideas for...
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My Dear I Wanted to Tell You
On the day in 1907 that eleven-year-old Riley Purefoy meets Nadine Waveney, he notes the difference between their two families—his, working class; hers, wealthier and artistic—and vows to better himself. Nadine’s mother likes Riley as a young boy, but when, a few years later, she...
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