Fern’s a great author- I have thoroughly enjoyed all her novels I have read to date. A trunk delivered to Caroline in Cornwall from Penang throws up mysterious and exciting information and items. Family secrets and relationships are then discovered muchto the surprise of everyone.

Another lovely book from Fern. Starting around WW1 and finishing in the present day it tells the story of various family members and how their relationships particularly the powerful females developed. At times it did move around a bit too much but it was easy to follow the overall storyline. Strong women gave birth to strong women and so the family line continued. Thanks Fern her publishers and NetGalley.

This is the first book of Fern Britton that I have read and I loved it. The story follows a family through the years. Clara met Bertie and they instantly fell in love and spent as much time together as they could considering the onset of war. Clara had a traumatic childhood, escaped to London and found a job working for a paper. Bertie was from Cornwall and had a charmed childhood – so different. Bertie joined up and went to war but before that he made sure she was safe in a home in Ealing which he fully intended to return to. Unfortunately this did not happen as Bertie was killed in battle but Clara was pregnant. She returned to Kent to the lady who had helped her become the woman she now is. Michael was born. Clara was invited to Cornwall to visit Bertie’s parents leaving Michael behind to come home to after the visit. She never returned and her story gets messy in some ways. She marries Bertie’s brother, goes to Penang and has three more children. Life becomes difficult for her and she decides to return to Cornwall to reunite with two of her children which had been shipped back earlier on. She returns with David who is much younger than Edward and Hannah. Life goes on through their lives and it was lovely to read. I am going to stop here for fear of giving the story of their lives in Cornwall away suffice it to say it must be read – a lovely book

Fern Britton writes beautiful, easy reading with heart books. Going to Cornwall later this year I was drawn to this book, filled full of history, family and love. I ended up loving the characters and praying for a happy ending. Beautiful.

I found this a little dull, to be honest. I am not sure quite what Ms Britton hoped to achieve, but missing out the very centre of the story seems a waste. I love the concept, strong women doing what needs to be done, how society and world events can turn love into something shameful, when it really shouldn't be, but I think the handling of how the stories were told is weak and overly manipulated. Quite a lot of shoehorning going on here. It would have had a better flow were it simply told chronologically. And why was the third woman 'punished' with a dull marriage? It reads, at times, like the author has a lot to say, but has been told to keep her wordcount down so tries to cram it all in in bitesize chunks.

Unlike previous titles by this author, which I have enjoyed, I have to admit to struggling with this one. Think it was the different generations that I didn't enjoy. I did persevere to the end, but have to be honest it was a struggle for me personally

A nice read set in Cornwall. Spanning over 100 years the story is told by the females in the generations. A story of love, loss, family and courage. I found it a bit disjointed in parts but once I got into it I found it enjoyable. A perfect holiday read.

I am never disappointed in reading a book by Fern Britton but I did find this one difficult to get into. Possibly because it was dealing with different generations However it was well worth persevering and ended up the sort of story that continued in my mind a while after it was finished!

Description
The No.1 Sunday Times bestselling novel!
Three women. A chance to rewrite history…
1918.The Great War is over, and Clara Carter has boarded a train bound for Cornwall – to meet a family that would once have been hers. But they must never discover her secret…

1939. Hannah has always been curious about her mother’s mysterious past, but the outbreak of the Second World War casts everything in a new light. As the bombs begin to fall, Hannah and her brothers are determined to do their bit for the war effort – whatever the cost.

2020. Caroline has long been the keeper of her family’s secrets. But now, with her own daughter needing her more than ever, it’s time to tell the truth – to show Natalie that she comes from a long line of women who have weathered the storms of life, as hardy and proud as the rugged Cornish coastline…
From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a sweeping, epic novel of mothers and daughters, secrets and lies, and a love that lasts a lifetime…

Review

I am drawn to anything Fern writes, I love her bubbly, vibrant style that reflects her personality. This is perhaps a departure from her novels written in contemporary times, this switches between the modern day and the years after WW1.

I loved the characters, the setting and anything about the war years always fascinates me. I love to learn and perhaps understand the impact of the war years on society and individuals and this is a twisty turny novel that grips you and holds you for the duration.

Fern can do no wrong in my eyes, and her attachment to the period is clear. It is a story of women - Fern is consistent in writing about independent females, a strong sense of place in the beautifully rugged cornish coast, and a desire to know more about your past and where you came from.

⅘
#daughtersofcornwall#netgalley

Daughters of Cornwall is a wonderful story starting during the First World War when Clara Carter meets the love of her life Bertie Bolitho.The story is told through several characters going back and forth from past to present and also through letters written in the past .Spanning over 100 years ,this is a delightful story of love ,loss secrets and challenges .Many thanks to the Publisher ,the Author and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review .

I've always enjoyed Fern's books and this was no exception, despite it being quite different from the others I have read going back in time for most of it. Mostly set in 1917/18 and post WW2 with a very small amount in the present day to pull it all together. Very well drawn characters, all very relateable in believable situations. Mostly set in Cornwall but with odd dips into Kent and London. Easy to read and the timelines are not confusing so thoroughly recommended.

This beautiful book transported me to Cornwall and into the lives of three generations of strong Cornish woman. Clara, Hannah and Caroline.

Every family has its share troubles and secrets, and actions taken by individuals can change the lives of not only themselves but those around them.

I love historical fiction and this book really made me think of the different lives woman lived during the World Wars compared to our present time. Although their lives were very different the problems they encountered were very similar to today’s.

The strong binds of family were brilliantly portrayed throughout the book and Ferns easy writing style really helped me to connect with each of the characters.

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for my chance to read this enjoyable book.

My first by Fern Britton and will definitely not be my last. An enjoyable easy read which had me gripped from the beginning and I found it incredibly difficult to put down! One of those books that you have to keep reading but are disappointed when it is finished.

I would definitely recommend this book.

I wasn't sure whether or not to request this book - I adore Cornwall and family sagas but have never read a Fern Britton book so wasn't sure what to expect. I love multiple timelines and this was set in 1918, 1947 and 2020. The author really brought these periods to life for me and I was really invested in the characters and their stories. The setting of course is wonderful and the story flows beautifully. It is a perfect easy , escapist read for our current times that I would recommend.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC

Thankyou to netgalley and Harper Collins for allowing me the advance copy of this beautiful book
I have read and adored all of fern’s previous books this takes a slightly different tack as it is set in three different time zones firstly in World War One and young couple fall in love and as their baby is born he is killed
Then the young woman travels to Cornwall and meets his family and meets his brother and begins another love affair that takes her to Malay
Then the final time is now when a mysterious trunk turns up at Clara’s home from Malay and she realises it will tell her the story in full from the generations before her to now as there are diaries and letters and Clara finds out exactly where she comes from

This was not like any of the other Fern Britton books that I have read but I still enjoyed it. It told the story through the eyes of women from the same family over different generations starting from WW1 to present day. The story highlighted the strengths of women during times of great difficulty and at times the women did not know what the future held. The womens stoic values really shone through in the story and portrayed the traditional matriarchy as was common during times of war. I kept expecting the story to link to other Cornwall books of Ferns but this did not happen. I would definitely recommend to fans of Fern Britton it was a lovely enjoyable read 😊

My Thanks to Netgalley and publishers Harper Collins for an ARC of this addictive page-turner. I was delighted to receive this having been an admirer of Fern Britton’s stories, all set in Cornwall. Here we have the tale of four generations of Cornish women, but mainly featuring the lives of the first two, Clara and her daughter Hannah. We see how the decisions taken by one generation knock-on into the next and the effects that they have on other family members.

I loved her previous novel, “A Good Catch”, with one major reservation and that seems to have been repeated here. The story is full and detailed until nearly the end and then the conclusion is fairly abruptly reached. I wanted to know more. What happened next.. Of course this would have made it too large a book, but I felt that Fern Britton is almost into saga territory with authors like Santa Montefiore. Her earlier books were satisfying bits of Cornish experience. Now that she has started to look at more than one generation of a family, I feel that there is so much more to tell. The first generation of these women, Clara, seemed to be rather an unlikeable character, although she did mellow somewhat in later life. Coming from such a terrible background, her deceits were understandable, but not forgivable. And why did she really leave her husband in Penang? My personal theory would constitute a spoiler, but if I’m right, it would have been a great theme to have explored against the background of the time. The devastating World War Two years in this country were sketched in, but not explored in detail. Perhaps it’s been done too often ion other books?

Despite these reservations, I loved reading this book and would highly recommend it to anyone who likes Cornish escapism with a more serious side.

This was a lovely story of several generations of a Cornish family with all the trials and tribulations that make a family complete. Good characters and an honest storyline with a satisfying conclusion.

An interesting story with a different look at family history through the different generations. I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it.

MINOR SPOILERS

Quite a lacklustre family saga that didn't quite sweep me up sadly. I've read a couple of the author's past books which were a little better and I do love Cornwall so always happy to give novels set there a try, but this was a quite dull.
The parts of the story that could have been quite interesting - the strange trunk that just turned up from far away, or how Clara ended up with Ernest and left Michael behind - didn't really get much exploration.
Some historical parts about the war were a little more in=depth but the majority of the story was rather domestic, endless descriptions of tea, food, interiors etc which I understand is a cosy genre of its own but might not really be for me.
Reading this felt just like passing time, like window shopping or people watching, of very little impact or insight but allows the clock to move on.
The last line was a little strange - something about daughters of Cornwall being as wild as the land from which they came - when only one seemed to be actually born in the county and had all actually lead rather humdrum lives. Sorry.