Penny Bangle [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

Cassie Taylor isn't sure whether she is lucky or unfortunate to be sent to a Dorsetshire farm during World War II. She will be safe from Nazi bombs, but she will have to earn her living. Farming is hard labor, her quarters and food are not luxurious, but Cassie is determined to fit into her new home with the Denhams The family includes a pair of handsome twins just few years older than Cassie.

Robert is recuperating from war wounds, and proves a stern tutor in how to handle livestock. On the other hand, the fun-loving Stephen is a lively companion. So why does Cassie find herself seeking the dour Robert's approval?

"The Penny Bangle" follows Cassie as she learns how to handle cattle, and then takes on driving and truck repair for the British army; a position which keeps the tough, resourceful young woman in contact with Robert. But when Robert is lost in combat in Italy, the despairing Cassie is tossed back into Stephen's comforting arms. What's a poor girl to do? Margaret James has a nice, light touch with her enjoyable tale, and her readers will root for Cassie and Robert as much as I did.

-- Jo Ann Butler

The Penny Bangle is the last in a trilogy of books following the lives and loves of various members of the Denham family. It's a series I've thoroughly enjoyed reading and a family who I'm sorry to have to leave behind, no matter how fitting an end The Penny Bangle is to the series.

In The Penny Bangle, it's the turn of Alex and Rose Denham's twin sons, Robert and Stephen, to take centre stage. It's 1942 and both men are home, recovering from injuries they suffered at Dunkirk. Into their lives comes nineteen-year-old Cassie Taylor, newly arrived from Birmingham after her granny sent her away to the country where she thought she'd be safer, and very reluctantly about to be the new land girl tasked with helping out on their parents' farm.

As Stephen and especially Robert are to find, Cassie is an exceptionally endearing character. From the opening scene, where she drops her underwear on a station platform, I couldn't help but root for the pretty, sparrow-like city girl who (literally!) mucks in and makes a go of being a farmhand. She's plucky, friendly, hard-working and sweet-natured.

Robert and Stephen may be twins but their characters are as different as their attitudes towards Cassie when they first meet and get to know her. They're both interesting men, affected in their own way by the war and events in their family and they both vied for my attention at different points in the book.

Apart from the wonderfully-realised characters, one of the things I loved about the book, and indeed all the books in this trilogy, is how much I've come to learn about what people's lives and careers were really like in the periods they cover. The Penny Bangle may have romance at its heart but there is so much more to it than that. The novel gives a fascinating insight into living through the Second World War for those in a city like Birmingham, or as someone working as a land girl on a farm in Dorset or joining the forces, training and working as a driver and then being posted overseas as part of the war effort. It's a book rich in period detail without it ever getting in the way of the characters and their stories, and ultimately it was those compelling characters and their stories who kept making me reach for the book until I closed it - and the series - with a satisfied sigh.

This is actually part 3 in a series but it can well be read on its own. Book 1 took place during WWI, book 2 was about that couple's daughter and this book has a new heroine named Cassie who arrives at a farm to work. The farm owned by the couple from book 1. It's her story.

I have read the other two books but this was actually my favorite. I can't say what made it so, was the writing better? The story? The heroine? Who can tell what tiny detail makes me fall more? I did like the two previous books too but I guess Cassie won me over more. She was brave, did not give up and most of all, she was sweet.

The story is about the war, family and love. Cassie falls for the son in the family, luckily the Denhams are good people and not snobs as they come from a better family and she is gutter trash. All is good on that front. But the war is always there and Robert goes back. Their romance takes some time to blossom and I liked this. No rush, even if we know it will happen (as he does not like her from the start.) And as he is away fighting and she does her best to serve her country there is always that amount of danger in the air. It's not showed though.

It was nice to meet the Denhams again and Daisy from previous books. And the twins Stephen and Robert were so alike, but nice young men. There is also another landgirl named Frances who befriends Cassie.

One thing I did not like, but as this was about the story, it's a very personal opinion. Because of something that happened I would rather have the book end unhappily then how it ended now, all happily. Somethings I do not forgive.

Conclusion:
Easy to read, romance, conflicts and war always present. Heartache and happiness is promised.