Jojo Moyes historical fiction

A little bit of background📃

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 made this post on the Jojo Moyes historical fiction titles that I have read. I will add to it as I make my way through her catalogue. 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. I've also read one of Moyes's first novels, Night music.

The giver of stars | Published October 2019 | Read March 2024

The story📖

The giver of stars is based on the real life Packhorse Librarians of rural Eastern Kentucky. The librarians travelled on horseback to deliver books to Appalachian mountain families during the Depression, an initiative supported by First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

The main protagonists are Alice van Cleve and Margery O'Hare, the leaders of the Packhorse Librarian team. Englishwoman Alice is new to the small Eastern Kentucky town that houses the library, having married handsome local boy Bennett van Cleve after they meet during his European travels. Alice sees marriage as an escape from her claustrophobic life where her 'spirit' is not welcomed by her stuffy family. Sadly, she finds herself in an equally dire situation, living with her overbearing, boorish father-in-law and a husband who seems to have gone off her.

Margery is no-nonsense and tough, fighting against her family's criminal background. She takes everything in her stride and ignores expectations of women at the time.

Alice and Margery find meaning in their library work, encouraging poor, isolated families to embrace reading. They are joined by Sophia, Izzy, and Beth: a black woman who mends books in secret due to the town's overt racism, a young girl stricken with a crippled leg from polio who is the daughter of the library's local benefactor, and another independent spirit who wants more out of life than domesticity.

My thoughts on the book💭

We're huge fans of Timothy Oliphant and Walton Goggins in Justified, a television show based on Elmore Leonard's novels. Watching that show has given me an understanding of rural Kentucky: the poverty, the hollers, the moonshine, and the destruction of the environment due to coal mining. Harlan County, where Justified is set, is referenced many times in The giver of stars. That alone connected me to the story.

I loved the Packhorse Library story! I'm a sucker for bad ass librarians and the power of reading to engage and educate. The sisterhood that underlines the novel is a joy to read and Moyes nicely avoids falling into cliché. The women's friendship and loyalty stands them in good stead when things start to go haywire. They face a tonne of challenges from the social, political and economic order of the era. My hackles rose on the regular at the descriptions of racism, sexism, classism, and prejudice. The women challenge existing norms and I loved them for it. They are brave and resilient and I enjoyed their personal journeys. I also appreciated the novel for the chance to learn about the Packhorse Library initiative.

There is something of a sentimental flavour to the book - and the inevitable romance - as one might expect for the genre. That said, it's understated, and the ending befits the overall vibe of the book.

In sum📝

The giver of stars paints a rich picture of the era and the landscape in which the story is set. Jojo Moyes is a talented writer. Her writing has a lovely tone and flow and she keeps her stories moving along nicely. This book is my favourite of the Moyes historical novels I have read to date, largely because of the connection to true events and for the bad ass librarians.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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

The story📖

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 are 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.

My thoughts on the book💭

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 occupied France and Sophie's fate. I loved this part of the book as a history nerd. 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. I liked the way Moyes portrayed the depth of her relationship with Edouard without being too sentimental.

I love the way the two women's stories are intertwined and how the search for the painting's journey reveals 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 is a moving story that Moyes tells with clever crafting, and I was fascinated to see how it all turned out.

I felt less sympathy for Liv. She seemed determined to hold onto the painting for its link to her husband even when she discovers the painting may belong to the LeFevre family. My lukewarm perception of Liv might have been because I felt deeply connected to Sophie. I understand that Liv is grieving but it seemed selfish to want to cling to the painting. I also think Moyes was trying to find a way to write a past-present story, as she often seems to do with her historical fiction novels, but the connection doesn't quite work for me.

In sum📝

I devoured the novel so I could find out what happened. Sophie's fate and the painting's journey are both expertly plotted by Moyes. 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. The girl you left behind is a close second for me to The giver of stars. I think I just struggled a bit with the modern-day story and Liv's desire to hold onto the painting. The story may have worked better for me if it was just Paul's search for the painting's provenance.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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

The story📖

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 as some sort of sign that her own complicated love life will sort itself out.

My thoughts on the book💭

I agree with other reviewers' comments that Jennifer's story is interesting enough to carry a whole novel on its own. It made my feminist hackles rise, but it is 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 isn'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 felt jarring to be suddenly reading about Ellie.

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.

In sum📝

The last letter from your lover is really all about communication and how much it has change. I mean, who writes letters these days? Moyes tries valiantly to weave this idea into a past-present story but the messages get a bit lost. The strength of the novel lies in its social commentary on the 1960s through Jennifer's eyes, but the rest doesn't quite work for me.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Foreign fruit | Published January 2003 | Read August 2024

The story📖

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. Their spirits lift 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.

As Lottie and Celia's stories progress, Celia's fiance, Guy, enters the scene. 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.

My thoughts on the book💭

As with other Jojo Moyes historical novels, the 1950s time period is beautifully evoked. 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.

I was just becoming invested in the story when it switched to the contemporary one. That said, I love Daisy! She is fierce and great at her job and I loved watching the reigniting of her independence after her hopeless partner abandons her and their four-month-old daughter.

I found this one a little slow to start with and I almost thought of giving it up. Lottie and Celia's story isn't all that interesting but it ramps up after the bohemian crew move into Arcadia and the girls become intertwined with the occupants' lives. As noted, I loved Daisy so I would like to have seen her enter the story a bit earlier.

Where the book falls down is in the wrap up. There is so much unexplained, or at least what is explained doesn't make a lot of sense. There are also subplots that seem unnecessary, including the storyline of Lottie's blind daughter, Camille, and her marriage difficulties. There is a lack of clarity over what happened to Celia and this leaves a big hole in the story, as does a lack of information on the fate of the rest of the Holden family. Young Lottie and Old Lottie almost seem like two different people, and the connection between Lottie, Guy and Lottie's loyal husband, Joe, is not believable.

In sum📝

I found this one hard to rate. I loved the 1950s story and Daisy's quest in the present-day story to renovate Arcadia to its former glory. I just feel that the ending lets the book down, even though I enjoyed the journey along the way. My rating reflects these thoughts, the stars awarded for the journey not the destination.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐