The Flame Within by Liz Harris

"With her looks, she ought to be able to work somewhere other than in a mill or a factory, her mam used to say. With a face like hers, she could make something of herself".

"In the heat of their passion, he'd meant it when he'd said he wished they could always be together. And if things had been very different, that might have been what he would've chosen.

But things weren't different.

Not in the real world."

The Flame Within by Liz Harris is a well-woven story of love, lies and betrayal, set in England between the wars. This is the second book in the sweeping Linford family saga, which you can read as a standalone.

We first meet Alice Linford, standing in front of a large Victorian house in London, not far from the area where she used to live with her husband, from whom she is separated for over a year. Agreeing to become a live-in companion to an elderly lady, Alice is like a strategist - she has a long-term master plan to reclaim her former position and married life.

"When she'd last lived in London, she'd been respected as part of the Linford family, owners of the successful construction family, Linford & Sons, and she'd wanted for nothing".

Her story then goes back in time, to the childhood in poverty. Alice was ambitious from the very young age, knowing that she doesn't want to spend her life, following in her mother's footsteps. 

"When she grew up, she would do everything she could to avoid living in the same way her mother and other women of Waterfoot".

When he father loses an arm in a accident, Alice has to leave school, and become a factory worker at 12. She works hard, and dreams of leaving all this hardship behind. 

As soon as she is old enough, she begins her training as a nurse. It might be a hard job as well, but it is certainly not boring. In 1915 she is registered as a nurse by the Red Cross.

"She couldn't remember ever being so happy as she felt on the day her registration came through, the culmination of six years of hard work. And her parents were delighted for her, too, and so proud".

Working at one of the London hospitals, she meets charming Thomas Linford, who is recuperating after losing a leg and part of his hand in WWI. "All she saw was a fun-loving, cheerful, handsome man, who was determined not to let his injuries overwhelm him, and who seemed to enjoy talking to her as much as she enjoyed talking to him". Alice feels an immediate attraction, and that feeling is mutual.

When the time comes for Thomas to leave the hospital, he proposes to Alice. Despite the difference in their social status and background, the Linfords accept Alice immediately and look upon her with kindness. Her training as a nurse is a big bonus in their eyes. They believe she will provide the utmost care for her invalid husband. "They clearly appreciated everything she was doing for Thomas, but they weren't viewing her as a person in her own right".

And that's one of Alice's problems. From having a fulfilling job and being valued as a skilled nurse, she is reduced to being a carer for her disabled husband.

Thomas changes from a charming loving husband to a grumpy, miserable grouch who finds fault with everything and everyone, including Alice. 

"But now that he was home, confronted by things he could no longer do for himself, and frequently in a significant degree of pain, everything was very different... he was becoming moodier with each passing day, and more and more hostile and resentful towards his family".

She is patient with him, but her love wavers. 

"Increasingly feeling tired and worn down, she was finding it harder and harder to summon the patience she needed while he came to terms with life as it was going to be for him from now on... He seemed to treat her as another enemy, rather than as his wife".

Then another man begins to show interest in her and makes her feel special. And just like a moth drawn to the flame, she cannot resist his attentions. Her new love interest is "taking advantage of her, exploiting the problems in her marriage to a man she had loved and looked after".

Alice realises that she still loves her husband, and he just needs time to work through his anger, grief and self-blame, and they might be happy together.

Will there be a happy end for Alice and Thomas? Or has she lost her chance to save their marriage?

I cannot say that I warmed up to the main protagonist. What she did is the ultimate betrayal, despite all the provocation and misery in her marriage. There are limits even to the adultery. 

You know there are stories which you get so involved in, you want to stop the characters from doing something stupid. That's how I felt about Alice's affair, I wanted to shout at her, "No, don't, just don't do it! It will never end well." 

One of the major themes running through the novel is the mental health, coping with disability and the toll it takes on the whole family. This has been written in a sensitive, authentic manner.

The author blends meticulous research of the historic period between the wars with a wealth of detail. The story is compelling - a dark mirror held up to our grief and how we cope with it.

The Flame Within is perfect for readers of The Thorn Birds and the Cazalet Chronicles, and the novels of Fiona Valpy and Santa Montefiore.

 

Purchase Links

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Flame-Within-gripping-between-Linford-ebook/dp/B08GQB97NF  

US - https://www.amazon.com/Flame-Within-gripping-between-Linford-ebook/dp/B08GQB97NF

Author Bio:

Liz’s first six novels were published by Choc Lit. The Road Back was the US Coffee Time and Romance Book of the Year, A Bargain Struck was RoNA-shortlisted for Best Historical Novel, and they and The Lost Girl, Evie Undercover, The Art of Deception and A Western Heart were shortlisted by the Festival of Romantic Fiction in their respective categories. Liz’s latest historical novel, The Dark Horizon, Book 1 of The Linford Series, which is set between the wars, was released in May 2020. She has also had short stories published in several anthologies and in magazines.

Liz is an active member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association, and also of the Historical Novel Society. She regularly gives talks and workshops at conferences, and is an approved speaker for organisations such as the WI and U3A. Her hobbies are theatre, reading, travel, cryptic crosswords. You can visit her website at www.lizharrisauthor.com

Social Media Links:

Website:          www.lizharrisauthor.com

Twitter:            @lizharrisauthor

Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/lizharrisauthor

 

Instagram:        @liz.harris.52206