Welcome to Novel PASTimes! We are pleased you stopped by today.
Thanks for having me! It’s quite posh here, isn’t it?
Tell us something about where you live?
I live in Hackney in London. It’s a bit grim at the moment. Our street is practically rubble after Hitler aimed his vengeance bombs right at us. Thankfully, my neighbours were safe and our house was spared. It’s crowded, though. What with me and my sister, mum and dad and my four brothers. And that’s before Jonty comes home.
Do you have an occupation?
Yes. I’m a seamstress. I do the hand embroidery and other details on gowns for a fancy French dressmaker in Mayfair. I taught myself to sew and I never dreamed I’d be good enough to get a job at such a place. I couldn’t believe it when Madame Martin took me on. I worked at RAF Bottesford in the war, which is all but over now. The Germans surrendered a few months ago, but the Japanese are drawing things out to the bitter end.
What do you like about your work?
I love working on fancy gowns for some of the richest people in the country. And not just gowns, we also make underthings. They are all very French, if you know what I mean. I could never afford anything like what we make, but I love being able to sew all day.
Who are the special people in your life?
Well, there’s my family. Lucy’s getting married soon and Dad’s a bit unpredictable, but Mum knows how to handle him. Then there’s Jonty. He’s my husband, so maybe I should have put him first. But everything is so complicated that I never know what to say.
See, we got married about two and a half years ago. I was well, in a family way, if you know what I mean. The baby wasn’t his, but he didn’t care. It was his idea to get married! We thought that once the baby was born we’d just get on with being a family. But my darling girl died and everything sort of fell apart after that. I told Jonty to leave. I said some awful things to him. Things that kept him away for two years. But, I regret them. And now that he is being demobilised, we need to find a way to begin again. I honestly have no idea where to start.
Then there’s my friend, Jan. He’s my neighbour’s nephew. We’re just friends. Or so I keep telling myself.
What do you expect the future will hold for you?
I wish I knew. Despite everything that has happened, I know that Jonty is a good man. Well, he was. Maybe the war changed him…? There’s a housing shortage because of all the bombing so we’ll be living with my family. But I don’t want to leave Hackney anyway. Not when my family and friends are here.
What are you most afraid of?
After my baby daughter died, I’m afraid that I can’t have babies that live. It happened to my neighbour Mrs Parkin. She buried every child she ever had. I’ve only done it once but I can’t do it again. I just can’t. It hurts too much.
What have you learned about yourself in the course of your story?
That, despite everything, I am loved and loved well. But it’s a long road, and I don’t want to give too much away, you see.
These Long Shadows by Jennifer Mistmorgan is a second chance, marriage-of-convenience love story with a dash of intrigue set in the dying days of WWII. Perfect for readers who love Sarah Sundin and Roseanna White. Coming March 2025.
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About the Author
Award-winning Australian author Jennifer Mistmorgan sometimes feels like she was born in the wrong era. So she writes romantic historical fiction set in the 1940s, against the backdrop of WWII and its aftermath. Her romances are full of sweet romance, wartime drama, imperfect faith and characters that feel like friends. She lives in Canberra with her family and a wonky-eared West Highland terrier.
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