Demobilising troops

These Long Shadows is set between the surrenders of Germany and Japan. The British are technically still at war with the Japanese. However, that war ‘in the Far East’ (as they called the Pacific theatre) is far away from Europe, removed from daily life. The task of demobilising (standing down) many thousands of personnel needed for the war effort was daunting. It hadn’t been done particularly well after WWI, so the government was under pressure not to repeat those mistakes. The British armed forces developed a system to decide the order in which they would stand men and women down which took into account age and length of service. I relied heavily on Alan Allport’s Demobbed: Coming Home after the Second World War for details on the technical aspects of this and Julie Summers Stranger in the House for the social ones. In the end, Jonty received an early medical discharge…after everything I put him through, he deserved it.

Rationing in England after the Second World War

It seems impossible to believe, but food rationing actually got worse for the people of Britain after the war. This was because after the war, Britain had many more mouths to feed and no more loans from the US. In fact, the British had loans to repay. I don’t touch on the food rationing as much as I was planning to in this book (although I managed to work it into The Light Keeper’s Wife.) Fabric and textile rationing and repurposing was important. There are plenty of examples of underwear made from silk RAF escape maps in museums, and garments made from parachute silk in museums today. 

The ‘make do and mend’ philosophy was also very strong, even in Australia. This dress, on display at the Australian War Memorial, shows is of a wedding dress made entirely from lining material.

The Polish Air Force

I have been looking for a way to work the Polish Air Forces into a book and found it in the character of Jan Delovski. The Polish pilots of 303 Squadron were in exile, evacuated from their country when the Germans and Soviets invaded, first to France and then to Britain. They were thought inferior to British pilots and forced into extra training. In fact, they were highly skilled. They were only allowed to fly in the final stretch of the Battle of Britain. They took to the sky with fresh energy, talent and passion. Ultimately, these pilots were a deciding factor in defeating the Luftwaffe in that decisive battle. Sadly, because Poland was under Soviet control after the war (and the Soviet Union was the post-war enemy), these men were not allowed to march in any of the victory celebrations. 

Assisted passage to Australia

After the war, the Australian Government really did offer passage to Australia from England for ten pounds per adult. The idea was part of a mantra that Australia needed to ‘populate or perish’. The scheme stayed in place for decades. These migrants became (affectionately) known as Ten Pound Poms. The idea was floated towards the end of the war, but the first migrants didn’t arrive until 1947, due to disruption and delays.

Have you got any questions about the history in These Long Shadows? I love talking about the history behind the book, so feel free to reach out via the contact page and ask. 

Here are three things I loved

The moral conflict: Cilla and Lachlan are both essentially good characters to whom deception, disloyalty and duplicity do not come easily. Both are trapped in one way or another. Cilla has no love for the Nazis but cannot convince anyone of that. Lachlan has no desire to work with MI5, but has to face the string of moral compromises that his situation brings on. The complex layers of moral conflict within each of these characters are well drawn and compel the reader through the book for the first quarter.

The Scottish hero: Sigh. I do love a Scottish hero with red hair and a strong moral compass (I even wrote one as my hero in These Long Shadows, coming out in March!). Goodness is such an underrated quality hero, and Lachlan is a good man forced to help Cilla lie and sabotage the country he loves. Sundin hits all the right Scottish ‘beats’ from Hogmanay to Robbie Burns quotes…and when he wraps her in his plaid I almost swooned.

The black moment: The promise (and quite, frankly, joy) of a romance is a happily ever after so of course you expect that despite the obstacles to true love, everything will work out in the wash. However, I don’t think I’ve ever been as thoroughly convinced by a “black moment” in a romance story as I was by this one. I honestly didn’t think they were going to make it. To which I say, “Well played, Miss Sundin. Well played.”

Midnight on the Scottish Shore releases on 4 February 2025. Get it from Amazon US, Amazon Australia, or the usual bookish places. I was provided an advanced copy of Midnight on the Scottish Shore by Netgalley, but this didn’t influence my review.

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The Truth Behind Bartondale

I chose the location for the Deroy estate when I was writing Heart in the Clouds and modeled the house of Belton Estate in Grantham. But the story that captured my imagination was that of Hughenden in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, once the country house of Victorian-era politician Benjamin Disraeli. Renamed “Hillside” during the war, the house was used as a place to make maps for RAF Bomber Command. The purpose of the work was so secret that it wasn’t until the 1990s, when a National Trust tour guide overheard a grandfather telling the story of his war work to his grandchildren, that the story became widely known.

While Grace’s home is inspired by Belton House near Grantham, the institution “Bartondale” is inspired by Hillside. I did borrow details from the accounts of people who worked there, including the idea that very few knew the entire story of the work. I also borrowed details from accounts of workers in other photographic intelligence units like RAF Medmenham (including the fact that they had both RAF and US Army personnel)  to create the world within Bartondale’s walls.

The Firestorm in Hamburg

Operation Gomorrah was the official name of the seven days and nights of bombings by Allied forces on the city of Hamburg in July 1943. This was a military victory for the Allies, more or less concluding the ‘Battle of the Ruhr’ that began with the operation over Essen after which Alec crash lands in Heart in the Clouds. As I mentioned in the book, everything went right for the Allies. From the new radar-jamming technology called window (literally aluminum foil strips dumped out the window of the aircraft) to coordinated nighttime bombings by the RAF and daylight bombings by the USAAF.

The results were devastating. Incendiary bombs caused a blaze that needed a new word to describe it: Firestorm. Around 40,000 Germans died, and hundreds and thousands of non-combatants were injured. But the raid crippled the industrial heartland of Germany.

My grandfather was part of this operation and it lived in his memory. I don’t think he thought he could ever be forgiven for his role in it, which was what I wanted to explore with Teddy’s character.

The Savoy Hotel

Ok, I just adore The Savoy, and any time I can get it into a book I will. It was one of Chruchill’s favourite wartime haunts and it really did pull out all the stops to cater to its exclusive clientele. The Savoy’s American Bar is the longest-running cocktail bar in the world. The famous 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book, written by one-time head bartender Harry Craddock is still in print today. Head bartender Eddie Clarke really did invent a cocktail for each branch of the British armed forces during WWII, before joining the navy. I never found the recipes for the RAF cocktail called “Wings” but I reimagined it as the version of the aviation in the Savoy Cocktail Book which doesn’t have the creme de violette. Instead, the bartender drops in an inky food colouring … which may or may not be booze what with rations and all that!

Have you got any questions about the history in The Mapmaker’s Secret? I love talking about the history behind the book! So feel free to reach out via the contact page and ask. 

Winners will be announced at the end of May!

2024 Selah Awards Finalists: First Novel Category

2024 Selah Awards Finalists: Historical Romance Category

Three things I loved

The opening: The first chapter of this book is utterly gripping. The reader is dropped right in the middle of the action right next to Aleida as she tries to escape. We feel the full effect of her husband’s abusive behaviour and experience the shock and grief of discovering she is separated from her beloved son, all in the first gripping 1500 or so words.

This is the kind of scene that seals the deal in the bookshop because you know with a writer like Sarah Sundin if the first scene is this good the rest of the book will be brilliant.

A radio journalist hero: I might be biased here because my husband was a radio journalist when I met and married him! But Hugh is absolutely delightful. I liked the distinctions Sundin made between the deceitful nature of the charm of Aleida’s first husband and that of the charismatic Hugh. I adored the behind-the-scenes details of the BBC during wartime. The regular gatherings of journalists and correspondents at the Heart and Swan pub were some of my favourites.

An unexpected murder mystery: I loved the murder mystery storyline that bubbled away in the background and its gripping conclusion. The mystery and suspense elements were elegantly woven into what is primarily a love story, with plenty of twists and a satisfying climax.

Embers in the London Sky is available at Amazon US and Amazon Australia.

We meet twin sisters Helena and Antonina in 1939, as Warsaw teeters on the cusp of war, and fall headlong with them into the barbarism wrought on their city. Estranged from each other through misunderstanding, the sisters pursue resistance in their own ways––one is a people smuggler and one is a soldier––and through them we witness some of the most brutal parts of the German occupation. Sieges. Bombings. Doomed uprisings. Mass slaughters. 

Amanda’s skill is taking devastating details from historical accounts, and reweaving them into her narrative so that it feels like a first hand account. (Amanda’s historical notes at the end of the book highlight where and how she has done this.) As time marches steadily away from these events and the eyewitnesses to this history pass away, the importance of a novelist’s skill to recreate them with unflinching detail grows. 

This is not a light story (even the ending is tainted by the knowledge that Poland ultimately swapped a Nazi occupation for a Soviet one) but it pays great honour to the people of Poland. You will be thinking about it long after you have put it down.

Buy from Amazon US, Amazon Australia or find other links at Amanda’s website (where you can also read an excerpt).