More Jojo Moyes historical fiction

British author, Jojo Moyes, has an extensive catalogue of contemporary novels and historical fiction. Moyes was a journalist with The Independent for 10 years and has been writing novels since 2001. I've reviewed one of Moyes's historical novels, The giver of stars, in a separate post. I loved that book, as the kick-ass librarians outshone the touches of romance fiction. You can also check out my review of Someone else's shoes, Moyes's contemporary novel that started my journey through her works. It's one of my favourite books of all time about women supporting women.

This post presents my review of three other historical novels in Jojo Moyes's catalogue. I love the dual timeline approach Moyes takes and the narratives in each time period from the perspective of the main female character. Moyes does a terrific job of evoking the time period in the historical parts of the novels and cleverly weaves the two stories together. That said, I found issues with all three books. Read on for my thoughts...

The girl you left behind | Published September 2012 | Read September 2024

The girl you left behind connects history with the present through the stories of Sophie and Edouard Lefevre in WW1 France and Liv and David Halston a century later in London. The novel is told from Sophie and Liv's perspectives.

The historical narrative is set mostly in the small French village of St Peronne where Sophie, her brother Aurelien and their sister, Helene, run a small hotel. Sophie and Helene's husbands are at the Front and have not been heard of for months. The women are forced to feed the occupying German troops in their hotel each night to protect their children and cope with the starvation and danger of the occupation. Sophie's story takes a dramatic turn when the German Kommandant in the town takes a liking to Edouard's painting of Sophie and to Sophie herself. Sophie uses the attraction to try to locate her husband.

Sophie and Liv's stories are connected through the painting of Sophie, the artwork having been purchased by Liv's husband, David, when they were honeymooning in Paris. Liv is still dealing with David's unexpected death some four years earlier when she becomes embroiled in a legal battle for the painting whose ownership is being pursued by Edouard's descendants. The court case brings Liv into contact with Paul McCafferty, an ex police officer who now works for families searching for the return of artworks lost or stolen during the two world wars.

The backbone of the novel is the search for the painting's provenance and the truth behind its fate after Sophie's story ends and Liv's begins. This journey takes the reader back to the occupied France and Sophie's fate. I loved this part of the book as a history nerd and I thought that Moyes captured the time period beautifully, documenting the fear and deprivations local villagers faced when the Germans took over their towns. Sophie faces a tough decision when she decides she must find her husband. I felt the heartbreak of Sophie's situation and I liked the way Moyes portrayed the depth of her relationship with Edouard without being too sentimental.

I felt less sympathy for Liv, who seemed determined to hold onto the painting for its link to her husband even when it looked like it might belong to the LeFevre family. That might have been because I felt deeply connected to Sophie. I understood that Liv was grieving but it seemed selfish to want to cling to the painting.

I loved the way the two women's stories were intertwined and how the search for the painting's journey revealed a fascinating story of loss and sacrifice. I thought Moyes was clever to link both world wars in her reveal of what really happened to the painting. This was a moving story that Moyes told with expert crafting and I was fascinated to see how it all turned out. I'm not a reader of romance novels or historical fiction usually, but Moyes has a gift for storytelling that keeps the sentimental at bay, focussing on the complexities of relationships rather than straight out romance.

What happened to Sophie and the painting was expertly plotted by Moyes and I devoured the novel so I could find out what happened. I'd rate The girl you left behind with Someone else's shoes as my favourite Moyes novels to date.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

The last letter from your lover | Published July 2011 | Read March 2024

The last letter from your lover is set in both 1960 and in the present (well, 2003 to be precise). Jennifer Stirling is the voice of the historical part of the novel. We find her waking up in hospital at the start of her story, unable to remember anything, including the tragic car accident that put her there. Her memories of her husband and of her sense of self are also gone. Jennifer struggles with amnesia until she stumbles upon an impassioned letter, signed simply 'B', asking her to leave her husband.

In the modern-day part of the story, journalist Ellie Haworth discovers the same enigmatic letter in a forgotten file in her newspaper's archives. She becomes obsessed by the story and sees it as a way to resurrect her faltering career. There's also a part of Ellie who is desperate for Jennifer and B to be together so that she can sort out her own complicated love life.

I agree with other reviewer comments that Jennifer's story was interesting enough to carry a whole novel on its own. It made my feminist hackles rise, but it was still a fascinating look at women's experiences in the 1960s, the taboo of divorce and a society that did not value women. Ellie's story wasn't as in-depth and it felt a bit shoehorned in, just to take the reader on the journey to discover what had happened to Jennifer. The novel might have worked better without Ellie at all or by starting with Ellie and flashing back to Jennifer. I was so invested in Jennifer's story that it was a bit jarring to be suddenly reading about Ellie.

The last letter from your lover is really all about communication and I wonder if Moyes was trying harder to make a statement about how much it has changed from the 1960s to now (who writes letters these days?). I was super keen to find out what had happened to Jennifer but the ending left me feeling frustrated, given the focus on communication throughout the story. That's all I will say without spoiling 😜.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Foreign fruit | Published January 2003 | Read August 2024

Foreign fruit's dual timeline links the small British seaside town of Merham in the 1950s with the present day. Lottie and Celia are at the centre of the 1950s storyline, bored to tears in the town but buoyed when a group of eclectic artists and performers move into Arcadia, a grand art deco house on the seafront, causing a stir in conservative Merham. Fifty years on, a businessman known only as Jones employs interior designer, Daisy Parsons, to oversee Arcadia's renovation and resurgence as a boutique hotel. This causes resentment from the locals and a resurfacing of the drama that unfolded in the house all those years ago.

I found this one a little slow to start with and I almost thought of giving it up. Lottie and Celia's story didn't seem that interesting but it ramped up after the bohemian crew moved into Arcadia and the girls became intertwined with the occupants' lives. Celia's fiance, Guy, enters the scene, and we learn more about Celia and the eccentric Holden family. We also learn about Lottie's background, having been left with the Holden family after her mother was unable to take care of her in London. There's a scandal - for the times anyway - at the end of the 1950s story that sees Celia leave Merham and Lottie remain with the Holdens.

I was just becoming invested in the story when it switched to the contemporary one. That said, I loved Daisy! She was fierce and great at her job and I loved watching the reigniting of her independence after her hopeless partner abandoned her and their four-month-old daughter. As with other Jojo Moyes historical novels, the 1950s time period was beautifully evoked and I loved the juxtaposition of the bohemian crew's lives with the stuffy traditionalists of the town, led by the prim and proper Mrs Holden. The 1950s mentality and its conventions are thoroughly and authentically portrayed by Moyes.

Where the book fell down was in the wrap up. There was so much unexplained, or at least what was didn't make a lot of sense. There were also subplots that seemed unnecessary, including the storyline of Lottie's blind daughter, Camille, and her marriage difficulties. There was a lack of clarity over what happened to Celia and this left a big hole in the story, as did a lack of information on the fate of the rest of the Holden family. Young Lottie and Old Lottie almost seemed like two different people and the connection between Lottie, Guy and Lottie's loyal husband, Joe, was unbelievable. So I guess I'm saying that the ending let the book down but I still enjoyed the journey along the way.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐(for the journey not the destination)