Reviewed by Sarah Brew
London, 1945 and as the end of the war is declared and the troops start returning home, the nurses of the East End are joining in the celebrations.
For Nurse Connie Byrne the end of the war signals the beginning of a new chapter and as the revelries go on around the city, Connie's mind is on another celebration that she'll be able to arrange - the wedding to her sweetheart, Charlie, set to take place as soon as he arrives home. But when Connie meets Charlie off the train at London Bridge, she finds that his homecoming isn't quite going to go according to plan...
Connie's busy professional life, and the larger-than-life patients in the district, offer a welcome distraction, but for how long? If nursing in the East End has taught Connie anything, it's that life is full of surprises...
Reviewed by Sarah Brew
It's 1945 and, as the troops begin to return home, the inhabitants of London attempt to put their lives back together. For 25-year-old Millie, a qualified nurse and midwife, the jubilation at the end of the war is short-lived as she tends to the needs of the East End community around her. But while Millie witnesses tragedy and brutality in her job, she also finds strength and kindness. And when misfortune befalls her own family, it is the enduring spirit of the community that shows Millie that even the toughest of circumstances can be overcome.
Through Millie's eyes, we see the harsh realities and unexpected joys in the lives of the patients she treats, as well as the camaraderie that is forged with the fellow nurses she lives with.
Today I'm delighted to welcome bestselling author Jean Fullerton to my blog as part of her tour for her latest book All Change for Nurse Millie which has recently been published.
Jean Fullerton is a native Londoner and was born in the East End within the sound of Bow Bells. Until she was five her family lived in Wapping, alongside the Thames, and then moved to Stepney. She is a trained nurse and teaches healthcare and nursing. No Cure for Love won the 2006 bi-annual Harry Bowling Prize for a novel set in London and written by an unpublished author. Jean's husband is a Church of England vicar, and his parish includes the site of the 2012 Olympic Games. She has three daughters.
Can you tell us a little bit about your latest book All Change for Nurse Millie?
In the first book of the series, Call Nurse Millie, we meet Millie on VE day and follow her and her various patients though the three years from the end of WW2. We see her tend to her patients and sacrifice her own happiness to care for her ailing mother. In All Change for Nurse Millie we catch up with her on the day the NHS started in 1948. She is now Nurse Millie Smith, having married aspiring MP Jim Smith. Millie and her fellow nurses are busier than ever with the introduction of the NHS as the community realise that they no longer have to pay for the services. Minor ailments need attention, babies need to be helped into the world and some of the larger-than-life characters need keeping in line, so Millie has enough drama to deal with without having to deal with more from home . . . and Alex Nolan, her ex-fiance, is back in town.
Did your medical background as a district nurse play a part in the inspiration for this series?
Very much so and having researched the story using 1940/50s nursing text books and talked to retired district nurses who worked in East London during that period, I have a huge admiration for their dedication. Of course, it was a different world then without many of the things we now take for granted. There were no antibiotics and everyday operations such as hip and knee replacements weren’t available but despite this nurses worked hard to relieve their patients’ suffering and always with a friendly smile.
