Product Description

A romantic wartime novel encompassing both love and tragedy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #331127 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-10
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Synopsis
Before the Second World War breaks, Cheffyns, the idyllic country house where the Garlands have lived for centuries, has already been touched by events in Europe. To the horror of her family, Katherine, the eldest daughter, appears to have run off to join the Nazis. On the outbreak of war, Caro, her younger sister, her friend Robyn, and the maids, Trixie and Betty, leave Cheffyns to help the war effort, and the old house is left to be managed by men too old to fight. In London, Caro and Robyn are joined by Edwina, a beautiful Irish girl with such striking looks that she catches the eye of the Prime Minister. While Caro and Robyn join the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, Edwina is singled out for undercover work of a most glamorous nature. All the girls meet and fall in love with a succession of young men, most of whom, it seems to them, are fated to die young - even Walter, the witty, handsome war artist, is soon to be touched by the hand of death. In such an atmosphere of fleeting pleasure, and fatal acceptance, it would seem that the young will never find lasting happiness.

From the Back Cover
Before the Second World War breaks, Chevrons, the idyllic country house where the Garlands have lived for centuries, has already been touched by events in Europe. To the horror of her family, Katherine, the eldest daughter, has run off to join the Nazis. On the outbreak of war, young Caro Garland and her friend Robyn leave Chevrons to help the war effort. In London, they are joined by Edwina, a beautiful Irish girl with such striking looks that she catches the eye of the future Prime Minister. While Caro and Robyn join the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, Edwina is singled out for undercover work of the most glamorous nature.

All the girls meet and fall in love but in such an atmosphere of fleeting pleasure and fatal acceptance, it would seem that the young will never find lasting happiness.

About the Author
Charlotte Bingham comes from a literary family - her father sold a story to H. G. Wells when he was only seventeen - and Charlotte wrote her autobiography, CORONET AMONG THE WEEDS, at the age of nineteen. Since then, she has written comedy and drama series, films and plays for both England and America with her husband, the actor and playwright Terence Brady. Her most recent novels are the highly acclaimed IN DISTANT FIELDS, THE WHITE MARRIAGE and GOODNIGHT SWEETHEART

Customer Reviews

The cover was nicer than the book
When the war came Caro, Robyn, and Edwina decide to join the FANYS, where they find themshelves invovled in secret work. Betty and Trixie former maids in Caro's home also are drawn into secret world of spies.
"Goodnight Sweetheart" is the lastest paperback by Charlotte Bingham. While I really wanted to love this book it was just not that good. The writer spends way to much time on details that don't really need that time. Overall "Goodnight Sweetheart" was a decent read, but you may want to pass

Playing at war...
English Caro, Robyn and Irish Edwina. Three girls before and during World War II.

The jacket of this book is so lovely, I hoped for an improvement after a couple of disappointments with Bingham lately.

Alas, not so. The first 100-200 pages or so consist of endless dialogues about the tiniest details. Page after page nothing happens as we are told what people wear, eat and say to one another. The (too) many details become tedious; a lot of it readers can very well assume themselves and it does make for skipping pages in between.

The book starts out concentrating on Caro and her conversations with a young painter who is doing a mural of Caro's family, the Garlands. We are introduced to Caro's sister, the beautiful Katherine, who is running away with her boyfriend and joining the nazis. Then there is Caro's friend Robyn and the two girls' rather uneventful pre war life.

In the vicinity of Caro's home in the country, Chevrons, the girls drive around in their little cars (the Angel and the Bentley), have some rather fun accidents, nothing serious, only part of their daily amusement. Getting some bumps and blue marks but, really, nothing to fuss about, and nothing that a hot bath cannot cure. They drink too strong gin and tonics and discuss the prospects of future boyfriends/husbands and so on.

The upcoming war does become a topic as it nears, but mostly it's all about the uniform the girls are going to wear when they join the FANYs (First Aid Nursing Yeomanry). This is a most serious matter, as the book explains, and no hanky-panky. Young Caro's Aunt Cicely was a FANY in the first World War and according to her, their uniform is about the best, which solves the matter of war duty for Caro. As Aunt Cicely says to Caro's friend, Robyn (quote): "You can drive well, you have a good figure, you will look well in the FANYs. The uniform is most flattering. You will shine in it, believe me, especially if we make sure to have it tailored for you at your father's tailor, which frankly is "de rigeur" if you want to cut a dash".

What a glorious war! one may be tempted to say.

The war does come and the girls do start their duty. They experience the living from day to day in London, taking part in the frantic gaiety among people who do not know if next day will ever come, and grabbing love when they find it.

However, in spite of all this, the lightness, the feeling of being in a play rather than in a most devastating reality, continues throughout the book. Oh, there are grave incidents, unimaginable tragedies and always the general bleakness of war all around. But still, the flippancy of the three girls' almost carefree chatter as the sail through it all, or at least, that's as it seems to me, fails to get me hooked.

I DID like the end. A happy end, actually. The book is very well constructed in the way it starts out just indicating slightly what will in fact finally finish the whole thing 400 pages later. All the girls find love and get married to their sweethearts. Some sweethearts do not make it through the war and are bid goodnight in a most touching way.

Actually two stars, since most of the book is rather boring (the endless dialogues, only half or less, necessary). The third star for excellent characterization and after all, some good fun with the darling young heroines.