Charlotte Bingham — In Distant Fields

Bantam 2007 Paperback, 320pp. Her wonderful new story, sure to be another bestseller, is about love and heartbreak, but most importantly, the remarkable nature of female friendship. Christmas 1913: Kitty and Lady Partita are best friends despite vastly different backgrounds. Partita has invited her friend, Kitty to stay at her ancestral home, Borders Castle. The grandeur of Partita's family seat is in stark contrast to Kitty's home in London where she and her mother, Violet, struggle to maintain appearances despite Kitty's father gambling away the family money. Kitty is introduced to the aristocracy a world she finds fascinatingly decorative and theatrical. She is enthralled by it, and desperately wants to be part of this way of life that is so far removed from the genteel poverty in which she and her mother are forced to exist. But war breaks out, not only irrevocably changing society, but also the lives of these two beautiful young women. The headstrong Partita and down-to-earth Kitty become nurses, caring selflessly for men who have been horrifically injured in the trenches. In Distant Fieldsis about the mothers and daughters, sisters and wives who are left holding things together on the home front and caring for their men. But, more importantly, it's about the nature of female friendship. From the Trade Paperback edition. (ISBN: 9780553817782). Good.