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Queen Of The May
Queen Of The May
Jun 30, 2025 6:57 PM

Author:Beale,Patricia Beale

Queen Of The May

A warm wartime saga of one girl's quest for a better life.

Queenie May Ellis vows to herself at the age of eight that one day she will escape, get away from Ma and her life of drudgery. Life is hard in the backstreets of Portsmouth in the 1930s, especially in a crowded house full of hungry brothers. Determined to have a better life, yearning for the passion and romance she sees on the silver screen, Queenie sets out to secure her own future. And handsome, aloof Able Seaman Jackson could be the answer to her prayers.

But Keith Jackson has his own ambitions and dreams, and they don't include settling down. And the outbreak of war will bring both heartbreak and hardship for Queenie, changing the course of her life for ever.

Reviews

A more ambitious novel than Captain Corelli, and a better one

—— Financial Times

A mesmerising patchwork of horror, humour and humanity

—— Independent

A magnificent, poetic, colossal novel... Superbly written... It is, in every sense, a sublime book

—— Irish Times

His most serious and ambitious achievement to date

—— Times Literary Supplement

Pleasurable... Like Steinbeck, de Bernières deserves praise for his imaginative sympathy

—— Independent on Sunday

Shafak will challenge Paulo Coelho's dominance

—— The Independent

An honour killing is at the centre of this stunning novel... Exotic, evocative and utterly gripping

—— The Times

Lushly and memorably magic-realist... This is an extraordinarily skilfully crafted and ambitious narrative

—— The Independent

The book calls to mind The Color Purple in the fierceness of its engagement with male violence and its determination to see its characters to a better place. But Shafak is closer to Isabel Allende in spirit, confidence and charm. Her portrayal of Muslim cultures, both traditional and globalising, is as hopeful as it is politically sophisticated. This alone should gain her the world audience she has long deserved

—— The Guardian

In Honour, Shafak treats an important, absorbing subject in a fast-paced, internationally familiar style that will make it accessible to a wide readership

—— Sunday Times

Fascinating and gripping - a wonderful novel

—— Rosamund Lupton, author of Sister

Vivid storytelling... that explores the darkest aspects of faith and love

—— Sunday Telegraph

Moving, subtle and ultimately hopeful, Honour is further proof that Shafak is the most exciting Turkish novelist to reach western readers in years

—— Irish Times
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