This book grabbed me early and never let go. When a writer so immediately takes you to a time and place its such a skill. I found myself in post - Windrush London where new people are making the capital their home and the huge social change is causing friction. As one character observes ‘she was no longer the odd one out’ as she goes to the market. More people are arriving, weighed down by layers thrown on haphazardly as their first experience of British cold started to bite. However, as those first pioneers answered the call from the motherland they’d found London not at all what they were expecting. Our government had put the call out to its colonies. We needed workers, to replace those men lost in WW2 and to rebuild. Yet no one seemed grateful, no one said thank you and the living was far from easy.

We follow two characters: Lawrie and Evie. They are courting in the old fashioned sense. Lawrie sees in Evie a nice girl, a girl who has been well brought up even though she has never known her father. He wants to do things properly, do right by her. So he calls and they go to the cinema or for a walk. Lawrie has come over from Jamaica and works part time as a musician in a local band. He also works full time as a postman, while carrying the odd special black market delivery too. Evie has lived in London her whole life with her mother Agnes. They have been Lawrie’s neighbours ever since a room opened up at the house next door. The two women understand prejudice because they have been victims of it and live a life kept very much to themselves. Evie is mixed race and Agnes, who is white, has been the subject of gossip and judgement ever since she was born. So, although what transpires in the book may be shocking to us, it barely surprises them, because they know how people feel about any sort of difference from the white British norm.

The story splits into two time frames approximately one year apart. In one, Lawrie is cutting across Clapham Common at the end of his postal route when he hears a woman shouting. She has found a baby in the pond. Lawrie rushes to help, but they are both too late. The baby becomes the book’s central mystery and because she has black skin, suspicion falls upon the already beleaguered Jamaican community. Rathbone, is the police officer assigned to the case and he relishes causing problems for the community. His suspicions fall on Lawrie, as the first man on the scene, but he doesn’t just investigate, he sets out to ruin his life. However, there is a secret to this baby’s background that is closer to home than he imagined.

I found myself rooting for Lawrie and Evie. I wanted them to be able to make marriage plans and live the simple, quiet life they dreamed about. Her mother Agnes has had to be very strong, being an unmarried mother of a mixed race child would have meant being ostracised. Evie remembers her mother having the neighbours for tea, when against her instructions Evie was caught looking down through the banisters. It takes her several years to make the link; she is the reason her mum has no friends or visitors. The hostility experienced by the men who arrived on the Windrush must have been bewildering. To be asked to a country because there is a shortage of labour, then meet nothing but hostility and suspicion is so unjust.

A lot of the tension in the novel is around sex and relationships. When the band are booked to play a wedding, the British host is immediately taken aback but decides they can play. All is well until a woman stumbles on the dance floor and one of the band rushes to help. Her husband doesn’t appreciate his wife being touched by a black man and a brawl breaks out causing the band to run for their lives. Provocative women, like the character Rose, stir up tension even more. The men refer to her as Rita Hayworth, the red-haired Hollywood bombshell. When the men first arrive she helps with getting them settled. Then she offers to take Lawrie and his friend to the Lido, dazzling them in her bikini and flirting with Lawrie. She makes it very clear that she wants Lawrie, with no thought to the consequences if her husband finds out. Interracial relationships are simply not accepted. As Agnes points out, her daughter Evie is far better off in a long term relationship with Lawrie, because although they come from very different places, society will view them as the same due to their skin colour.

I felt immersed in the world the author has created. From the cold mornings on Lawrie’s postal round, to the smoky nightclubs the band plays into the early hours. ​This is my grandparents generation so I could also imagine the homes, the struggle of still being on rations and for the women, trying to look nice on a tight budget. It reminded me of stories my grandma and great- aunts told me about going out dancing in post-war Liverpool. I felt so much for Evie, especially when her whole story unfolded towards the end of the novel. There is a whole cast of interesting characters, but Evie and Lawrie are this novel’s heart and I desperately wanted life to work out for them. Louise Hare has written a vibrant book with an incredible sense of place and time, and interesting characters. I loved it,

This review will appear on my blog this week.

What a poignant story of love, betrayal, hope and discrimination. The Second World War has ended and as the male workforce has been depleted an invitation is extended to the men of the Caribbean to come to Britain to work.
Laurie travels to Britain in 1948 and finds not the warm welcome he envisaged but cold inhospitable weather mirrored by the thoughts and actions of some of the people he meets.
Over the next few years he settles down but when he finds a a dark shinned baby dead and abandoned, Laurie and his community find out the true extent and meaning of discrimination.
A moving debut.

2/5 - unfortunately, I just didn’t enjoy this book.

I understand the importance of the main message but the story itself just simply didn’t grip me and I ended up having little to no interest.

A beautifully written novel about a Jamaican man, Lawrie, living in postwar England and the girl next door in South London. Expecting a more welcoming arrival the young, sweet natured Lawrie faces daily racism as he works as a postman by day and a musician by night. Lawrie falls in love with Evie, his South London neighbour who he thinks he will find happiness with. and there, at least, seems the potential for happiness. The couple experience many ups and downs but eventually there is light at the end of bleak tunnel. A fabulous read, very poignant, highly recommended.

Set in post-war London it follows the lives of Caribbean immigrants who were led to believe England would be welcoming and full of riches, neither of which were true.

It was like nothing I've read before and, once I got used to reading Jamaican English, I really enjoyed it.

It was a compelling story of mystery, love, family and racism. I definitely recommend it!

It took me a while to get in to, but then I was all in! I loved Lawrie and Evie’s unravelling love story, set against a backdrop of a post-Windrush London and the challenges of a changing city.

Laurie arrives on the Windrush, having been promised a wonderful new life in London. Of course, the streets are not ‘paved with gold‘ and the newcomers are the victims of terrible racism.

Laurie falls in love with his neighbour but then makes a tragic discovery of a crime that is at the heart of the story.

The story is told in two different timelines which was confusing at first, due I think to the closeness of the time between them. (but also possibly due to the poor formatting of the ARC)

I did feel that Evie's mother was a bit of a caricature of a 'bad person' but many of the other characters tuned out to more faceted than initially thought. I didn't figure out the perpetrator of the crime ahead of time, and did find myself reconsidering parts of the book in ligkt of who it was - a sign of a good story well-written!

The book does use the language of the time so be warned if you find this offensive.

This story is difficult to read in as much as it is based in London just after the Second World War when people from the Caribbean came over (as British Citizens) and the way they were treated which should make us ashamed especially as racism is still going on today unfortunately. It is set in the London and is about the struggle of integration. It can be classed as a murder mystery story as well as the treatment of single mothers in that era. Agnes has a mixed race daughter without a husband and it is felt through the book that she had a one night stand and became pregnant which turns out not to be the case. Evie obviously wants to know about her background but Agnes keeps secrets which I guess she feels she needs to keep. Evie meets an immigrant and falls in love and the book goes through the traumas of what happens to Lawrie, Evie, his friends as well as Agnes. This book has been written thoughtfully and with care and I felt a bond with her characters and could almost feel their hurt and joy in equal measures. I thought the book was very good and the mix of characters (DI Rathbone) made is all the more credible as a story set in that time. It kept on giving and left me not knowing until the end what the outcome would be

Lawrie journeyed to Great Britain on board the Empire Windrush in 1948, one of over a thousand West Indians brought over from Jamaica to help rebuild post-war Britain. Like all the other men on board, Lawrie came to make a new life in London - he'd seen and heard that he'd be welcomed with open arms, and there'd be homes and jobs in abundance for them. However, he would soon discover the reality.

This wonderful story goes back and forth in time over a 2 year period, between 1948 when Lawrie arrives in London at age 19, to 1950 when he finds himself caught up in a tragic incident and facing a very different future. The story pulls you quickly along, meeting both loveable and dislikeable characters, and you get a real sense of how difficult life was for these newcomers. The British Government wanted their help, but once here they received nothing but racial and physical abuse, sneers and accusatory finger-pointing. It makes uncomfortable reading in parts because of the reality of the story, but the writing is brilliant. You are left guessing until the end as to how the tragic incident occurred, and who was involved.

I heartily recommend it!

This Lovely City by Louise Hare is a marvellous historical murder mystery. It is a fabulous debut novel set between 1948 and 1950.
The war is over. Britain needs rebuilding but hasn’t the population to do it so an invite is issued to Jamaican men to come over and start a glorious new life… but the reality is very different. “It didn’t matter what his passport said. A man with a black skin could never be considered British.” The Windrush men find that that they were lied to, racial prejudice is rife. “People looked and decided what he was without knowing a single thing about him.” There were terrible crimes committed against the men even from those in authority. Men were judged as guilty merely on the colour of their skin. It is horrifying to witness for the modern reader. These men were helping to rebuild Britain and yet they were judged and assaulted for the crime of being black.
Mixed race relationships did occur but they were frowned upon and any children were judged too. It was a terrible, shameful time.
Unmarried mothers were also looked down on and shipped off to the countryside to give birth and then forced to give babies up for adoption. They were seen as bringing shame to their families. It was awful for those poor women and babies.
There are some kind hearts within the novel who help where they can, seeing the goodness in others and not the colour of their skin.
This Lovely City introduces the reader to post war Britain. It should be a time of freedom but there is prejudice, poverty and rationing continues.
Louise Hare is a talented new author who elicits feelings from the reader as we travel through her book. She has captured the atmosphere of the time. I am looking forward to much more by her.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

Released on March 12th 2020, this is definitely going to be a bestseller. It is more than just a fictional story, it educates about those who came over from Jamaica to the UK on the Empire Windrush on the 22nd June 1948. Windrush has obviously been in the news a great deal since 2018 and I feel like this novel brings the humanity back into the quite unbelievable situation.

We follow Lawrie, who came over to start a new life in the UK after great encouragement from his mother. There was meant to be a plethora of jobs available and more opportunities following the loss of so many lives during World War 2.

Lawrie secured a job as a postman, found a house share and fell in love. This all comes crashing down when a crime is committed nearby and racial prejudice brings him and his friends into the frame.

The "who did it" element is weaved throughout the story and I didn't quite guess it right. The love story is honest and beautiful. I also loved how the city is portrayed, the music halls, the Soho bars, the era itself.

The crime is at the heart of the story but the overarching takeaway for me was the social and economic exclusion of those who came to UK, looking to earn a living and make a difference.

I, for one, am very glad to live and work in such a diverse and multicultural city as London.

I thoroughly enjoyed and will recommend to everyone.

Thank you @netgalley @hqstories and @lourhare for the opportunity to review.

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Lawrie has arrived in England on the Windrush hoping to make a better future for himself here. Soon he has lodgings in a house next to Evie , his girlfriend. By day he is a postman and by night plays in a band. Life is looking up but he makes a discovery which will turn everyone's lives round.
As a result of who he is , he is a suspect along with every other coloured person in the district.
This book captures the racism,prejudice and hatred that these people faced.
Luckily not everyone thought the same.

I really enjoyed this book. In 1948 Lawrie Matthews arrives in London from Jamaica on the Windrush. He and his fellow passengers have been promised a great new life. The reality is completely different. Londoners don't want them there and they face racial discrimination wherever they go. Eventually Lawrie finds work and starts a relationship with Evie, who is herself of mixed race. However, when Lawrie is involved with the discovery of a half caste baby in a pond, he suddenly finds himself the main suspect in a murder inquiry. This is a good story which will keep you guessing and it was really interesting to find out more about that particular time. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

This Lovely City....this lovely book!
I adored this book. Likeable but flawed characters that I really felt invested in.
I think the book gives a real insight into how the windrush generation were treated when they arrived in London.
Fans of Andrea Levy will enjoy this book. I will be recommending it to everyone!
5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Lawrie Matthews arrives in Britain on the Windrush in 1948 at the invitation of the British government. A plane is flying a Welcome’ banner over Tilbury docks – but this is the extent of the welcome; an empty gesture by a newspaper. There has been little to no preparation for the invited emigrants and they find to their dismay that they are initially to live in an ex-bomb shelter under Clapham Common. Lawrie and his friends and colleagues try to build the new lives they envisioned, but none of them expected prejudice, racism and the utter hostility and sometimes violence of the British natives.

Alongside the daily lives and trials of how they are treated and work to improve their lives, runs the story of a dead baby found in Clapham Common pond; this brings in the hostile, suspicious local police who focus their enquiries on the black community. The only respite for Lawrie is his growing love for Evie, his next door neighbour and the jazz music he loves to play with his friends.

The piecing together of the murder enquiry together with the shameful way these guys were treated makes this truly addictive reading. It’s shocking, depressing, guilt-inducing; but through all this the wonderful characters of Lawrie, his bandmates, Evie and their friends rise above, and live their lives.

It’s 1950, the Blitz is over, and London is still rebuilding after the war. Jazz musician Lawrie Matthews has answered England’s call for help. Arriving from Jamaica aboard the Empire Windrush, he’s taken a tiny room in south London lodgings, and has fallen in love with Evie, the girl next door.

Touring Soho’s music halls by night, pacing the streets as a postman by day, Lawrie has poured his heart into his new home. Until one morning, while crossing a misty common, he makes a terrible discovery.

As the local community rallies, fingers of blame are pointed at those who had recently been welcomed with open arms. Before long, London’s newest arrivals become the prime suspects in a tragedy which threatens to tear the city apart.

This book pleasantly surprised me, even when I requested a copy on NetGalley I was still unsure whether I would like it. I have never read anything, nor do I have much knowledge of this subject. I was aware many men came from the Caribbean to aid the reconstruction of British society in the aftermath of WWII, but I had no understanding of the circumstances they had to face upon their arrival. In fact, I found myself in slight disbelief that only 70 years ago it was seemingly justifiable to treat a person of colour in this way.

For a debut novel This Lovely City was incredibly well written. Split between two timelines, one in 1948 as the Windrush immigrants first arrive in London and then 2 years later in 1950. Lawrie was a very endearing character, he worked so hard to be a British citizen only to be vilified in return. Unfortunately, I didn’t particularly warm to any of the other characters and found Evie especially difficult to empathise with and somewhat annoying at times.

I felt there was a great deal of mystery to the story and had surmised the outcome quite early on. However, this didn’t affect my overall enjoyment of the story. I would definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading more from Hare in the future.

A brilliant debut, effortlessly draws you in and draws the characters almost instantly with only a few pages. Sparkling dialogue and an intriguing plot that kicks of fast right at the beginning.

I thoroughly enjoyed This Lovely City and the way I felt moved after reading this honest, impactful and impressive debut.

It's a masterpiece, encapsulating the post-war jazz scene of Soho and the lives and struggles of the Caribbean Empire Windrush arrivals in Brixton. This is part historical analysis of the era and part mystery. Told in a third person narrative as well as letters and newspaper articles, the story alternates between the current drama unfolding and the events of the past between the different characters.

Important factual notes of this period are featured such as the lack of accommodation for the Windrush migrants in post-Blitz London, the scheme of saving amongst friends, war rationing, the unifying cultural significance of British jazz entertainment etc. These are pivotal points in London and British history (which continue to have an effect generations later as the Windrush political scandal proves) that I have a limited knowledge of but now want to explore further due to this story.

You witness the story of Lawrie, a talented Jazz musician and postman as he's involved in the tragic discovery one morning on Clapham Common of the body of a baby. Much suspicion and sensationalist interest surrounds the grim discovery and it leads to immense consequences for Lawrie, his community, and those he is close to. As the mystery of who the baby girl is, where she came from, and importantly what happened to her is unravelled, so do layers of secrets, prejudice and great cruelty.

I felt so invested in the stories of Lawrie and Evie, both are so young and yet have endured so much, you really get a feel of how complex life was after the hardships of war, and particularly both the open and hidden hostility surrounding social stigma and change. This book explores the depths of identity, citizenship, the impact of morality, and the particular inequality of gender, class and race; themes that are sadly still comparable in current society.

I was also fascinated by the relationship between Evie and her mother, Agnes. You witness letters written between Agnes and her sister, Gertie, discussing the events as well as Evie's perspective, and you get an insight in to the complex nature of the mother-daughter dynamic, how conflicted their love is and the wounds of the past.

A stunningly rich and emotional debut.

This lovely city-Louise Hare
This book is set post war and features the Windrush generation. Hare describes in detail the struggles faced by immigrants who arrived in London for the better life they were promised but was not delivered. The adversities they faced the discrimination, racism, love & endurance and hope for the future. This book is a real eye opener and will not be a particularly good read for some due to the nature of the story. I feel it may be quite hard hitting for some. I loved the main characters they were so well written and utterly believable the relationship they formed was beautiful . I would recommend this book to family and friends.
Many thanks to both the author and netgalley for allowing me to read this book.

I read this on the back of the Observer New Voices article which I’ve found every year to be a great source of new fiction writers.
This book, though unsettling subject matter at times, is a real joy... and in Laurie and Evie we have two of the most joyful characters in fiction for quite some time! Set in 1948_50 this novel tells the tale of the Windrush ship arriving on British shores and the passengers here to make a new life for themselves in Britain. Their arrival was not greeted universally with joy and it is uncomfortable reading as we hear about the terrible racist treatment encountered. But we also find love that flourishes, and thrives despite the hurdles that this community of characters faces.
An uplifting book but which doesn’t shy away from the issues either. A rare combination