The Call of the Wrens

Written by Jenni L Walsh

Narrated by Fiona Hardingham and Amanda Sanfilippo

The Call of the Wrens introduces the little-known story of the daring women who rode through war-torn Europe carrying secrets on their shoulders.

An orphan who spent her youth without a true home, Marion Hoxton found in the Great War something other than destruction. She discovered a chance to belong. As a member of the Women’s Royal Naval Service—the Wrens—Marion gained sisters. She found purpose in her work as a motorcycle dispatch rider assigned to train and deliver carrier pigeons to the front line. And despite the constant threat of danger, she and her childhood friend Eddie began to dream of a future together. Until the battle that changed everything.

Now twenty years later, another war has broken out across Europe, calling Marion to return to the fight. Meanwhile others, like twenty-year-old society girl Evelyn Fairchild, hear the call for the first time. For Evelyn, serving in the war is a way to prove herself after a childhood fraught with surgeries and limitations from a disability. The re-formation of the Wrens as World War II rages is the perfect opportunity to make a difference in the world at seventy miles per hour.

Told in alternating narratives that converge in a single life-changing moment, The Call of the Wrens is a vivid, emotional saga of love, secrets, and resilience—and the knowledge that the future will always belong to the brave souls who fight for it.

• Historical, stand-alone novel
• Book length: approximately 94,000 words

• Language: English
• Publisher: Harper Muse
• Release date: Nov 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9781400233915

Jenni L Walsh

Jenni L. Walsh worked for a decade enticing readers as an award-winning advertising copywriter before becoming an author. Her passion lies in transporting readers to another world, be it in historical or contemporary settings. She is a proud graduate of Villanova University, and lives in the Philadelphia suburbs with her husband, daughter, son, and various pets. Jenni is the USA Today bestselling author of historical novels Becoming Bonnie, Side by Side, A Betting Woman, The Call of the Wrens, and Unsinkable. She also writes books for children, including the nonfiction She Dared series and historical novels Hettie and the London Blitz, I Am Defiance, By the Light of Fireflies, Over and Out, and Operation: Happy. To learn more about Jenni and her books, please visit jennilwalsh.com or @jennilwalsh on social media.

Reviews for The Call of the Wrens

[khoyt-43756 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have just finished "The Call of the Wrens" by Jenni L. Walsh. I chose this book because of the carrier pigeons in this fascinating novel about WWI and WWII. (My grandfather raised pigeons and won awards.) I learned how carrier pigeons were trained and how much they were used in these two wars. The story of the two women involved in these wars was tragic yet inspirational. Both women had difficult beginnings but managed to overcome their pasts to become women of grit and grace, even risking their lives for the honor of becoming a part of the Wrens and serving their countries during these difficult periods in the history of the world.

[katebaxter_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent historical fiction about two strong, courageous, independent women who are in the WRENS (Royal Navy Service). Marion is an orphan in WWI while Evelyn is a rich heiress in WWII who both seek to forge their own path.I loved this book. Gorgeously written and sensitively rendered--historical fiction at its finest. The twist will take your breath away. Marion and Evelyn's story reads like a battle cry for anyone who's had to fight against other people's expectations and find her own place, and her chosen family, in this world.