Homeland

By Clare Francis

It is 1946, and the eve of the harshest winter for a hundred years. Servicemen are pouring home from the war to a Britain beset by stringent shortages and a desperate housing crisis. Anxieties are heightened by the unexpected arrival of the soldiers of the Second Polish Corps, whose refusal to go back to Poland is regarded with impatience and suspicion.

As anti-Polish propaganda reaches its height, newly demobbed Billy Greer reluctantly agrees to take on a young Polish veteran named Wladyslaw Malinowski as a labourer on his uncle's withy farm in the heart of the Somerset wetlands.

Stella, the local schoolteacher, has been waiting for the return of Lyndon Hanley, a hero of the Burma Campaign, but increasingly finds herself drawn to the beguiling Wladyslaw.

As the country is brought to its knees by blizzards and hardships, the tensions of post-war life lead to mistrust, accusation and ultimately death.

'A very fine novel indeed' Independent

'A deeply atmospheric novel' Daily Mail

'The characters' world envelops the reader completely' Sunday Times

'An atmospheric, powerful, moving and dramatic tale . . . It's terrific' Bookseller

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Release date: Feb 23, 2012
• ISBN: 9780330466028

Clare Francis

Clare Francis is the author of eleven international bestsellers, including Homeland, Deceit, Red Crystal and A Death Divided. She has also written three non-fiction books about her voyages across the oceans of the world. She lives in London.

Reviews for Homeland

[shanklinmike · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Clare Francis is a talented woman. Not only a yachtswoman of renown, but also a talented author. This book, set in post-2nd world war Britain, is centered on the Somerset Levels. I toured this area as a cyclist some years ago and the low-lying, foggy, waterladen and atmospheric feel to this place is perfectly captured in this book. The plot is gripping and the characters believable. Enjoyed this book a lot.

[smik_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

1946 and post war Britain is suffering an especially harsh winter and a bitter economic downturn. Disconsolate soldiers are returning to a rural life but the harsh wartime experiences they have lived through make it hard for them to settle.Billy Greer is one. He returns to his only family, his uncle and aunt in the Somerset wetlands, planning to stay only briefly and move on to a new life in the city. But, attracted by a past girlfriend, he hangs around long enough to help sort out his uncle's run down willow farm. He employs a labourer from the nearby Polish resettlement camp but finds that this causes trouble in the local community. Polish soldiers after fighting heroically with the Allies can't return home to Poland, which has been taken over by Stalin.The British government and people are treating the displaced Poles with increasing intolerance and hostility.When a death occurs in the small community, it looks like Wladyslaw, the Polish soldier turned labourer, will be the one to get the blame.This is not really a mystery although the death provides a small one, and there are other small mysteries along the way. The novel is really about refugees, displacement, and the legacy of war.