WINNER OF THE 2018 ROGERS WRITERS' TRUST FICTION PRIZE - WINNER OF THE
2019 CITY OF VICTORIA BUTLER BOOK PRIZE - A 2018 KIRKUS BEST BOOK OF
THE YEAR - A GLOBE AND MAIL BEST BOOK OF 2018 - A TORONTO STAR TOP
TEN BOOK OF THE YEAR - A WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FAVOURITE BOOK OF THE
YEAR - A QUILL & QUIRE BEST BOOK OF 2018
Inspired by the author's family history, this forthright love story
unflinchingly portrays the trials and tensions of a lifelong marriage.
Born between the wars on a working-class street in London, Harry Miles
wins a scholarship to an exclusive school and with it a chance to escape
his station. Instead he falls in love with poetry, and though his
teachers encourage him to attend university, he's tired of scholarship's
dull routines. He takes an entry-level job and spends his free time
among the poetry volumes at Battersea Public Library
One afternoon on his way up the stairs, Harry encounters the enigmatic
Evelyn Hill. The daughter of an alcoholic layabout, the young woman
chafes against the idea of marriage--but during a summer spent wandering
the commons and taking in plays with Harry, their relationship begins to
bloom in the shadow of the Second World War. Before they know it, Harry
is headed into battle and the couple faces the first of many challenges
in what will become a lifetime spent together.
Drawing on original wartime letters written by the author's father,
Dear Evelyn reckons with the shifting tides of marriage, exploring how
two people shape one another over the course of a lifetime. This
compelling account that will leave its mark on any reader who has ever
loved.
