The Girl from Station X by Elisa Segrave

Thank you to Aurum Press and Lovereading for the review copy.

This is a tale of two women woven together from the memories and diaries of the daughter, Elisa, and those of her mother Anne covering a period of great change in our history. Anne grew up in great privilege which she seems to have taken for granted but also suffered devastating losses leading to alcoholism and then the descent into Alzheimer's. Elisa laments the lack of affection from her mother but she also seems to be unaware of her own privileged upbringing during a time of massive deprivation in post-war Britain.

Unexpectedly my sympathies were at first for Anne. After all what could be worse than the death of one's child. On the other hand she might have found great comfort in her three remaining children if she had not been brought up to consider herself first. Two of my friends have lost children, albeit older, in tragic circumstances and yet they seem to have at least been able to hold their families together and be united in grief rather than divided.

Throughout the book I found my empathy swinging between the two women and even at the end I am not sure who I feel most sorry for. Elisa didn't have her mother's full attention but did have a nanny and other family members around. Both alcoholism and dementia must be very difficult but neither is the fault of the sufferer. I wonder if Anne was actually bi-polar. It would certainly explain her wild changes of mood.

As I read this book I kept thinking that I could write quite a large essay on that school cliché ”compare and contrast...”.

I too was brought up in post-war Britain. What would I have given for the travel and homes Elisa experienced as a child rather than the cramped “pre-fab” I grew up in. Anne alternately delighted in and hated her wartime work. My mother was incredibly clever but as the illegitimate daughter of a servant she had never had the opportunity she would have loved to become a journalist. She had a talent for crosswords especially those devilish cryptic clues. How she would have thrived at Bletchley Park. Elisa feels her father did not achieve his potential being only a Commander. My Uncle always said there was never a chance he would have become a Lieutenant Commander if not for the war. My own father was colour blind and in a reserved occupation so never got to “play his part”.

A book full of fascinating detail of life during WW11, the relationship between mother and daughter and the lives led by wealthy people in the 20^th century.

I am reminded of the play “Plenty” by David Hare.