Free (Kindle) Bewildering Cares by Winifred Peck [Vintage WWII Homefront Literary]

[ATDrake]

Bewildering Cares by the late British author Winifred Peck (Wikipedia) is her vintage literary fiction domestic/social drama novel set near Manchester during the early years of WWII, wherein a vicar's wife records her experience of the sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking, events that occur in the course of daily life during wartime on the homefront, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Dean Street Press.

This has previously been offered free in 2016.

This was originally published in 1940 by Faber & Faber under the title Bewildering Cares: A week in the life of a clergyman's wife, and this reprint edition includes an introduction by social historian Elizabeth Crawford, who has contributed to the UK government history blog. You can also read more about the history of the late author and this particular novel in this tribute post over at the publisher's sub-imprint blog.

Currently free @ Amazon (available to Canadians & in the UK and pretty much everywhere else Amazon sells worldwide, since this is being done via their KDP Select exclusive-or-else program)

Description
‘It’s a storm in a tea-cup, of course, but then we happen to live in a tea-cup!’

So begins Camilla Lacely’s charming, witty diary of life as a vicar’s wife in a mid-sized town outside of Manchester in the anxious, early days of World War II. The ‘everything and nothing’ that happens include a controversy swirling around the curate’s pacifist sermon (through which, alas, Camilla napped, making it difficult for her to discuss with outraged parishioners), servant problems, anxieties about Camilla’s son off training with his regiment, the day-to-day worries of friends, and a potential romance in the town … or are there two romances?

Readers of Bewildering Cares might well be reminded of the likes of E.M. Delafield or Angela Thirkell, but Peck offers her own distinct take—sometimes hilarious, sometimes touching—on the ironies and heartbreaks (not to mention the storms in teacups) of domestic life, community, faith and life during wartime. This new edition includes an introduction by social historian Elizabeth Crawford.