Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner

Secrets of a Charmed Life

by Susan Meissner

The author of A Bridge Across the Ocean and The Last Year of the War journeys from the present day to World War II England, as two sisters are separated by the chaos of wartime...

Current day, Oxford, England. Young American scholar Kendra Van Zant, eager to pursue her vision of a perfect life, interviews Isabel McFarland just when the elderly woman is ready to give up secrets about the war that she has kept for decades...beginning with who she really is. What Kendra receives from Isabel is both a gift and a burden—one that will test her convictions and her heart.

1940s, England. As Hitler wages an unprecedented war against London’s civilian population, hundreds of thousands of children are evacuated to foster homes in the rural countryside. But even as fifteen-year-old Emmy Downtree and her much younger sister Julia find refuge in a charming Cotswold cottage, Emmy’s burning ambition to return to the city and apprentice with a fashion designer pits her against Julia’s profound need for her sister’s presence. Acting at cross purposes just as the Luftwaffe rains down its terrible destruction, the sisters are cruelly separated, and their lives are transformed...

Reviewed by cherryblossommj on

5 of 5 stars

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Originally posted on Creative Madness Mama.You may already know that my favorite genre is Christian Historical Fiction but did you know that my truly favorite stories to read are their own little sub-genre of a Christian Historical Fiction/Contemporary mix? Like that of Susan Meissner and Elizabeth Musser. Nothing grabs me in more than stories that bring you in and out of the historical context to a modern day to truly bring the characters alive and off the page. The Shape of Mercy and The Girl in the Glass are two such novels that I have read and enjoyed in recent years from Susan Meissner. Thus when I discovered that the New American Library from Penguin Random House was now publishing some new stories for her I had to look them up.

Lately, I have been on an Edwardian kick and reading many early 20th century setting novels. When I was browsing through my to-reads list I noticed a few titles from Susan Meissner that I haven't read yet. At a glance, I was thinking Secrets of a Charmed Life was in key with my current reading. Well I was wrong and skipped ahead a few decades to the era of World War II and the London Blitz rather than the first world war, but I was so immersed and captivated from page to page that I just couldn't stop reading. I couldn't let myself put it down to move back into the 1920s rather than the 1940s.

Secrets of a Charmed Life takes place both in modern day with a history major, Kendra, coming to interview a woman well into her dotage that survived and lived through the time of the London Blitz. I have to confess that I still state that The Shape of Mercy is one of my favorite reads of all time. Emmaline Downtree, Isabel MacFarland, Julia Waverly, Kendra Van Zant all prove to be intriguing characters and strong female leads in this story. The personalities are so strong and I find that I would feel so blessed to know any of these people.



It is easy to say that this novel would make an excellent film. Beautiful, gut-wrenching, and captivating. If you are familiar with Atonement by Ian McEwan, you might like this story of two sisters and their experience in the children's evacuations, London Blitz, and the aftermath with their family, friends, dreams, and day-to-day life.

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This review was originally posted on Creative Madness Mama.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 15 October, 2015: Finished reading
  • 15 October, 2015: Reviewed