The Lu Wilmott Sagas

3 primary works

The Girl Now Leaving

by Betty Burton

Published 27 April 1995

A heart-wrenching and powerful saga of one girl’s journey to adulthood

Lu Wilmott grows up in the Portsmouth slums of the 1920s. Stricken by diphtheria, she is sent to the Hampshire countryside where she discovers a robust fighting spirit and the first stirrings of attraction...

But then she must follow her mother into the city’s grim corset-making trade. Lu realizes that things must change. And she can make it happen.

Her journey from shy child to energetic woman encompasses love, deep friendship, and a growing political awareness. Above all, Lu is a survivor – and one to be reckoned with.

The Girl Now Leaving is a powerful and unputdownable saga perfect for fans of Diney Costeloe, Nadine Dorries and Mary Gibson.

Not Just a Soldier's War

by Betty Burton

Published 20 June 1996

In the powerful sequel to The Girl Now Leaving, Betty Burton takes her heroine into the Spanish Civil War

Poverty and factory work have filled Lu Wilmott with a determination to make something of herself. The call to Spain is irresistible: she can live up to her ideals and finally be the woman she's always wanted to be.

Signing up as a driver, Lu leaves her past and becomes Eve.

One of the few women in charge of heavy vehicles, faced with constant danger, she falls for Spain. But here 'Eve' encounters an old love. Can she find room in her stretched new life for romance?

Amidst death and disease, fear and chaos, with food running low, we find a formidable woman is formed from the spirited, naive girl who left Portsmouth...

An unforgettable and moving wartime saga, perfect for fans of Rosie Goodwin, Rita Bradshaw and Rosie Archer.

The Face of Eve

by Betty Burton

Published 31 December 1999

When Eve left her home town of Portsmouth, she'd never intended to return. Poor housing, poor wages and poor opportunities forced her to make a clean break. But the experience gained as a driver in Spain, desperately fighting for the Republic, enabled her to reinvent herself and to gain a confidence and maturity far beyond her years. She has become her own woman. Which makes her a very attractive propsect in more than one sense to David Hatton, who is charged with selecting highly unusual, independent and intelligent candidates for the Special Operations Executive. This mysterious woman from his past is obviously suitable - as is her current lover, a captain from the Soviet Secret Service. For in the war that lies ahead, one thing is certain: brute force won't be enough.