Themes

The first half of the twentieth century encompassed two world wars and a crippling economic depression. As I explored these decades, I discovered the lives of ordinary men and women who contributed in extraordinary ways to their countries, communities and families. They shouldered burdens we can never imagine and sacrificed daily while upholding the values of duty, freedom, honour and decency. From their stories several themes emerged.

War

My historical novels consider the impact of war on men and women – the stress, horror, fear, privations, and secrecy that pervade everyday life and relationships with both expected and unexpected consequences. The more I read, the more I understood and the more incomprehensible it became.

Love

Love sustains and love destroys. At times, a man or woman asks too much in the name of love. Usually marriage begins in love, sometimes marriage ends in love.

Tradition

Tradition brings comfort and security as well as structure and constraint. In today’s western society, tradition plays a minor role; in our parents and grandparents’ times tradition had a more respected position. Those who question tradition or seek to change it usually collide with prevailing power structures.

Sacrifice

For whom and under what circumstances do we sacrifice? And what will we sacrifice in the melting pot of love, family, war, country, honour and duty?

Women

The twentieth century brought incredible change for women. I am interested in portraying how strong women find outlets for their desires and balance in life and marriage, a theme which still has relevance today.