Blog Tour - The Angels Of Lovely Lane by Nadine Dorries plus Q&A

The Angels Of Lovely Lane By Nadine Dorries Publication Date: 2nd June 2016 Publisher: Head Of Zeus Pages: 336 Genre: Historical, Fiction Format: Paperback Source: Publisher

Amazon UK / Amazon US / Book Depository / Wordery

It is 1953 and five very different girls are arriving at the nurses' home in Lovely Lane, Liverpool, to start their training at St Angelus Hospital. 

Dana has escaped from her family farm on the west coast of Ireland. Victoria is running away from a debt-ridden aristocratic background. Beth is an army brat and throws in her lot with bitchy Celia Forsyth. And Pammy Tanner has come from quite the wrong side of the tracks in Liverpool. 

The world in which they now find themselves is complicated and deeply hierarchical, from lonely but formidable Matron down to Dessie who rules the Porter's boys with military firmness.  

Everyone has their place at St Angelus and woe betide anyone who strays from it.  

But when an unknown girl is admitted, after a botched late abortion in a backstreet kitchen, a tragedy begins to unfold which will rock the world of St Angelus to its foundations.

The story starts in 1940 with Emily Haycock who even at such a young age seems a lot older than her age. With her mother sick and young brothers to take care of, she works hard to keep the home running for her family's sake. When her mother's ill health gets worse, Emily decides the best thing to do is to give up her job in the factory to be at home to try to do more for her family. It isn't long before something tragic happens that changes everyone's life in their town forever.  The book then jumps to 1952 where we see Emily, who now is training nurses to work at St Angelus. There is a new batch of nurses who will be working and living together as they are trained. These girls all have some type of background, from secrets that they want to keep in their past to wanting to make something of themselves to prove that they can change for the better.  My favourite character would be Emily, from when I read about her in the beginning of the book to watching her grow as a person as the book went on, she became so important to the people at St Angelus. Her nature and truly passionate drive to help others even though she has suffered heartbreak and loss in the past, shows a lot of strength which I loved in her character. I loved Nadine's writing, she not only told an amazing, heartbreaking story about the girls who worked at St Angelus but she made such vividly imaginable characters that you could picture in your head as you read about their lives and the issues and life choices they make or face. Each girl has her own story to tell in the book and Nadine tells it in such a way that it make you feel as if they were based off real people.  The Angels Of Lovely Lane is a truly amazing story that take you back in time to feel as if you were in the characters world and living the story with them. I would recommend anyone to read this book as it makes you smile, sad and by the end happy that you got to know The Angels Of Lovely Lane.   

Angelic, Lovely and Amazing. 

23 Review Street:

Q&A with Nadine Dorries

Hi Nadine, thank you for joining me today on 23 Review Street! Your new book, The Angels of Lovely Lane was published on the June 2^nd and is such a lovely story about five girls who are different in many ways. 

How did you come up with the story for The Angels of Lovely Lane?

I'm a trained nurse myself so the inspiration for the series came from my own nursing experience. The girls are just a mix of the real personalities I knew, and the hospitals I worked in provided the background. Obviously, my own experience provided the framework, the rest is the work of the characters and the paths they lead me down. 

Will there be more books as part of a series or is it a stand-alone novel?

I am half way through The Children of Lovely Lane. I have a feeling there will be a number of books in this series!

Having read about your first book, I believe that you drew on real life experiences. Are any of your other books from personal experiences?

The whole of the Lovely Lane series is based on my experience as a nurse. I often feel sad that I didn't start to write when I was younger, but then I remind myself it is life that has given me the experiences to draw upon. I have had an eventful life, not all of it good, and writing has enabled me to turn that into a positive. Some was desperately tragic and I have yet to be able to draw on that. I will though, soon. 

The Angels of Lovely Lane has five very lovely girls, do you have a favourite to write about or one that you could relate to more?

Gosh yes, Pammy is definitely me. I just can't deny that. I was in trouble every five minutes. She is the easiest to write because I only have to think, what would I do or say and she's off! 

  

What does your day look like when you are writing?

It starts very early, often before six am. On a writing day, I walk the dogs with my tea in a travel mug. I feed them, make my coffee in the machine, prepare breakfast and I'm away. Noise in the house drives me crazy and is so distracting. I get away in hoIiday time as much as possible. I write best when it is peaceful and quiet. However, having said that, lots of my writing is done on trains! 

If you could describe your writing style in three words, what would they be?

Emotional, funny, sometimes surprisingly dark. 

Thank you so much for talking to me today, I am looking forward to reading your next book so much. 

 Thank you so much for the post! Nx

Another day, another book,