Meadow Girls

Previously published as The Watercress GirlsA warm-hearted and nostalgic family saga from the bestselling author of THE WINTER BABY and THE NURSEMAID'S SECRET. Suffolk, 1914Twelve-year-old Mattie and her little sister Evie lead an idyllic life in the countryside, exploring the meadows and picking watercress in the streams. But little do they know that this perfect childhood won't last. With the onset of World War I, the country is thrown into turmoil . . . As the years pass, the girls go on to live very different lives. Mattie travels to Canada and America, whilst Evie remains in England. More than fifty years later, through marriages, deaths, births, war, heartbreak and distance, will these sisters finally be reunited to have their time in the meadows again? 'This charming, drama-filled novel certainly packs in all the warmth, wisdom and heartfelt emotions that were the trademarks of Sheila's writing.' My Weekly'This gently uplifting story is a saga to savour . . . this charming, drama-filled novel certainly packs in all the warmth, wisdom and heartfelt emotions that were the trademarks of her writing . . . a delicious and wonderfully poignant read for long summer evenings.' Lancashire Evening Post- - - Praise for Sheila Newberry:'So gloriously nostalgic . . . a perfect example of her talent.' Maureen Lee, bestselling author of The Seven Streets of Liverpool'Like having dinner with your mother in her warm and cosy kitchen.' Diane Allen, bestselling author of For the Sake of Her Family

The Meadow Girls is a beautiful, thoughtful tale exploring life's unexpected twists and turns, and the sacrifices, separations, loves and friendships that we encounter along the way. Full of rich period detail and nostalgia, and written with Newberry's natural empathy and insight into what it meant to live through times of upheaval and war, this gently uplifting story is a saga to savour....this charming, drama-filled novel certainly packs in all the warmth, wisdom and heartfelt emotions that were the trademarks of her writing....Newberry's enchanting and heartwarming story is a delicious and wonderfully poignant read for long summer evenings., This charming, drama-filled novel certainly packs in all the warmth, wisdom and heartfelt emotions that were the trademarks of Sheila's writing.

Sheila Newberry was born in Suffolk and spent a lot of time there both before and during the war. She wrote her first 'book' before she was ten - all sixty pages of it - in purple ink. Her family was certainly her inspiration and she was published for most of her adult life. She spent forty years living in Kent with her husband John on a smallholding. She had nine children, twenty-two grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Sheila retired back to Suffolk where she lived until her death in 2020.