The Land Girls

A Novel

Clara nodded her gratitude. “Thank you for listening to me and not—I don’t know—telling me to keep my chin up or something.”

“Of course, darling.” Becca stood up and gave Clara a hug. “I’ll go help Hetty prepare the table. In the meantime, go wash your face. We’ll see you soon, okay?” With that, Becca patted Clara on the shoulder and left the room.

Clara sat still for another moment, savoring the feeling of being told what to do, along with the pat on her shoulder that encouraged her to actually do it.

She missed her mother during times like these, and she couldn’t even ask for help by post. All her mother would do was worry, and what was the point in that? Just to spread the angst? No, Mrs. Herling had bigger things to worry about, Clara knew, so she let her mother continue thinking that all was well with her eldest daughter, the celebrated Land Girl.

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Clara: Passionate and idealistic, she has signed up to be a Land Girl in the English countryside to do her bit for the war effort. Only…why is her important work not boosting her morale, as she’d hoped it would?

Lena: Clara’s sister, she tries to find her place in a family of war volunteers. But choosing a calling isn't all that simple…

Judith: As German refugees, she and her sister Lottie are working hard on Mrs. Wilson’s farm in Lincolnshire, while worrying about the fate of their family back home. Still, even while doing all they can to help on the British farms where they are billeted, they can’t seem to escape being taunted as “Jerries”…

A beautifully written historical novel set during WWII, The Land Girls paints a moving and realistic picture of England's home front, as it explores what the realities of war meant for young women at the time. The girls all yearn for the day their country will emerge victorious from this war, but in the meantime, each must reach deep within herself to attain her very own victories as well...

This book was originally serialized in Hamodia, under the title Land Girls for the Win. A sequel to Following the Piper, the book can also be enjoyed on its own.

By Esther Malky Neiman