Changes

Summer 1914: Beatrice Nash arrives in Rye following the death of her father, hoping to earn a living as a Latin tutor. Despite being the sort of woman with ideas of her own, she has allies in the family of local pillar of the community Lady Agatha. Agatha may not have realised just how modern Beatrice is but she'll stand by her after having been her sponsor for the post initially. Meanwhile Agatha's nephew, medical student Hugh soon warms to Beatrice but his heart belongs to Lucy, his surgeon professor's daughter. Soon, though, the events of a small town summer will fade in importance; the Balkans will explode and Europe is thrown into a war that's far from the swift, romantic, consequence-free conflict of which summer daydreams are made.

Beatrice is the stranger in the midst of small town Rye and so a great pair of eyes for us to share. She dares to believe in women's suffrage and her experience of others' marriages has put her off the idea for life. Beatrice is therefore determined to work and support herself for the rest of her life (cue local shock and outrage).

Helen doesn't just present us with unforgettable central characters though. I dare anyone to finish the book and forget about Snout. Full name Richard Sidley, he's one of Hugh and Beatrice's underprivileged informal pupils. Born to a gypsy traveller family, he's doubly disadvantaged in class-ridden small town Rye. His talents are as diverse as poaching and Latin translation, the latter being as much a disadvantage among his peers as the poaching is among the landowners.

Whatever you've read about WWI, don't feel you've read it all until you've read this. Even though we could never fully understand the lives and times of those caught up in the war without a time machine, Helen takes us a step further on the journey from knowing to feeling.