Gain Your Copy White Feathers Drafted By Susan Lanigan Available Through Digital Format

War hovers, as a very real possibility, in the air of London, Men are signing up. women are demanding rights and mothers all over the land fear for their young sons, The lucky ones are hidden behind the safety of their status, education or rank, An unexpected bequest means that Eva Downey, gets to escape the wrath of her stepmother and stepsister, gaining entry into an exclusive boarding school.
A major change in the young girl's life, she embraces the world of learning, structure, poetry and selfimprovement, She is embraced by two very different characters at the school and life takes a very different turn in her sheltered world.


and Eva has a heartwrenching decision to make, An evil twist of fate has her held hostage to this decision and the pain remains long after the deed is done.
Love is pain, loss is pain and regret is pain, But how can one forget what caused the pain How can one move on

Written in delicate prose, in the style of the period, the first thing that appealed to me when turning the opening pages, was the fluidity of the words.
They slipped across the page, like a satin scarf slipping off the back of a chair, Gliding, without any apparent effort, taking the reader along their journey, This elegance didn't fade once throughout the novel, Each chapter, each character and each substory, all had this unique feel, I felt like I was discovering some forgotten antiques at an old house auction, that could now be appreciated by a lover of stories.


Susan Lanigan began this book long before this years WWI centenary, but the timing of its release was impeccable.
The White Feathers of the title, are all too well known for their message of cowardice, and may my children never know the impact of such a statement in their lifetime.
Eva is a wonderfully drawn protagonist, one who has been dealt the bad hand but who uses this to make her a stronger person.
Her father is the biggest coward in the whole tale, not the men avoiding war, A spineless, selfish man, who has hurt the ones who are closest to him, without a second thought,

Sybil, Christopher and Lucia are the Holy Trinity of Eva's new world, Unaware of how their roles will affect her, she stumbles across their company, like a moth to a flame.
Their fates are aligned, both in the UK and on the fields of France and Belgium, Friendship can be a bond, hard to break and harder to forget, Even when war tears people apart, life has a way of bringing people together, Heroes, cowards, life, death, duty and honor, Fear of humiliation, nervous conditions, unplanned pregnancies, and prearranged marriages, This book has a bit of everything, The most powerful thing it does possess soul, Good, oldfashioned, soul. Beautifully crafted, immaculately researched and lovingly produced, Place this novel on your best piece of furniture, as it deserves to be displayed prominently, and admired regularly.



Highly Recommended
In this centenary year of the start of WWthere have been lots of tempting books on offer, which give voice to many stories which sum up the effects of war on a generation of young people.
The story opens inas Eva Downey, a young Irish immigrant, learns that an unexpected legacy gives her the means of escape from a remote father and hostile stepmother.
Attending finishing school in Eastbourne gives Eva the means to escape from her family circumstances and allows her a little freedom.
Whilst at The Links, she meets and falls in love with her teacher, Christopher Shandlin, who is an admirable man with strong principles.
However, as England is poised on the brink of war, strong beliefs do not meet the exacting standards of a nation who are sending hundreds of young men out to fight a war.
Forced into to giving her sweetheart a white feather to denote his opposition to fighting, Eva must live with the consequences of her actions.


The book is a beautifully written, with strong attention to detail and there is a real authenticity to the storyline which is maintained throughout the whole of the novel.
The troubled early years of the war is recreated in intimate detail, made all the more shocking by the real ethical and moral dilemma faced, not just by Eva and Christopher but by the country as a whole.
I empathised greatly with Eva and understood just how difficult life was during this awful time,

The emotional journey of the story is really hard hitting at times, and the book seems to cover an awful lot of ground, not just about the war itself, but also about the womens movement, suffragettes, conscientious objectors, burgeoning sexuality and marital infidelity, but its all remarkably well done and it soon becomes a real page turner of a story.


There is no doubt that this is a really good debut novel from a talented new author and Im sure that White Feathers will stand out from the crowd of WWnovels in this centenary year.


My thanks to Real Readers and OBrien for my review copy of this book,

This is certainly not my usual fare but I'm glad I read it, despite the lack of elves, warp speed and errant mages.


Set during World War, White Feathers tells the story of Eva Downey, a young woman trapped in a hateful family.
She is intellectually ambitious, falls for someone her family disapprove of and is forced to make an impossible choice.


To say any more may wander into spoilers, Suffice to say, I fear Eva and Christopher will stay with me for some time, to follow There are books we read and enjoy and there are books that take over our soul.
White Feathers is a souloccupying story, Eva Downey's life and times, told with skill, compassion, grit, determination and complete love, Susan Lanigan nails each of these with clarity, delving into every corner of Eva's journey to create this mindblowing tale of personal triumph, although triumph is not the right word for the suffering here.
If there's a book showing why we don't ever need another war, this is it, Susan's flowing, graphic descriptions of the effects of war on families, on individuals, on countries and loyalties, is unmatched.
White Feathers buries deep inside you and refuses to leave, Eva's relationships are simple, yet extremely complex, Her family is intact, yet splintered, Her friends are true, yet selfish, Her love is given completely, but with reservation, Her decisions are understandable, yet perplexing, Susan Lanigan is a word artist as she winds this tale from beginning to end, I am in awe. I enjoy reading War time stories, This story deals with the sensitive topic, as the title White Feathers, suggests cowardice, It is not usually or openly spoken about but this story deals well with and creates an interesting environment with the lives of its characters.
An enjoyable and easy read, The writing is good and the plot well developed, definitely a commendable debut,

Read a detailed on my blog: sitelink me/pTHgI sitelinkwww,bookstreet. wordpress. com.stars. Wow, what a debut novel! This book took my breath away, it's been a long long time since I have read a book that was so emotive.
Normally I wouldn't read this genre, but I chose to order this title as we were doing a display at work on the first and second world wars.
The story centres around Eva, the lead character and how her life changes during and because of The Great War,

this compelling novel takes you on a roller coaster of emotions and it's not always an easy ride.
The only one tiny tweak that I wish I could change was that I was desperate to find out Christopher's age and had to read quite a way through it before it became apparent maybe it's just me liking to visualise the characters.
This is a must read, I fully recommend this to anyone and I don't think many will be disappointed.
Wonderful, thank you Susan Lanigan, A hugely entertaining read, beautifully written and passionate, Loved it. This is a very good debut book, A great writing style makes it very easy to read, But the time required to tell this interesting story and to set the immense historical backdrop required, comes at the expense of the characters.
Some of these feel superficial and a few could be done without entirely, As a result, it is difficult to empathise with either their personal tragedies, or those of WWI in general.
A huge task undertaken with a good result for a first novel, I loved this book This is a real atmospheric book about a young girl thest world war love amp loss such a great storyline It Touches on everything Women's sexuality Constraints of Society War.

A great book I highly recommend it, A great well researchedst novel from Susan Lanigan White Feathers is the debut novel from Irish author Susan Lanigan.
Divided into five sections detailing the years with young Eva Downey and the role World War I in her life, White Feathers is a historical romance with guts.
After receiving a generous endowment to attend a finishing school, Lanigans fictionalized “The Links”, Eva leaves her family home in London.
Eva and her stepmother Catherine, her fathers second wife, share a tense relationship since the familys immigration from Ireland nearly ten years before.
While at school Eva explores and expands her understanding of life through the tutelage of her English teacher, Mr.
Shandlin. When her elder sister Imelda takes ill, Eva leaves Links behind until Sybil, her friend from the school, tells Mr.
Shandlin where he might find the brilliant and beautiful Eva, When the war and family obligations interrupt their courtship Eva is forced to do the worst imaginableand so begins White Feathers.


I was first approached by the author, Susan Lanigan, in January of this yearto read and review the novel.
I set about reading White Feathers as spring opened the skies in Dublin, In the window seat of my favorite cafe, perched above DOlier Street with the novel open on my lap, rain lashed the glass beside me while I read and read and read.
White Feathers was so intense and addictive that my tea went cold and unnoticedperhaps the greatest sign of enthralling literature.
I found White Feathers well written and well paced, The plot could have become stale in the length of the novel my copy is close topages but Lanigans division into five sections is wise.
It allows her to jump timeline and bring plots forward without entire scenes of exposition, Dotted within the text are letters from one character to another which adds an element of the beyond to the story, allowing Lanigan to move the plot swiftly and have her characters do most of the talking.


I always admire an author who can stock their story in such history without it becoming a textbook and I think Lanigan succeeds.
By laying the historical foundations thickly in the first two sections of the story, there is room to move within the universe created in the last three.
Lanigan trusts her characters implicitly, The story is carried by the confident, human voices behind the typeset, I am often amazed by how the human brain can configure only so many letters, arranged into so many words, into images and sometimes even living breathing flesh in their minds.
Lanigan is a natural story teller and thats evident in this popular debut,

Without further adieu I recommend this book whole heartedly for anyone interested in World War I fiction, romance or coming of age stories set in Europe.
You can find the novel in your local Waterstones, or online here, You can learn more about Susan Lanigan by visiting her website or join the conversation about White Feathers on Twitter! A haunting novel of a love affair between a young woman coming of age and her teacher.
I felt completely caught up in the fate of the characters as their story, with its poignant twists and turns, unfolded against a backdrop of World War One.
The novel convincingly evokes what it was to live through that time and gives a subtle exposition of the way in which societal attitudes were moulded by warmongers.

Eva lives an unhappy life with her father, sister Imelda and stepmother and sister who both despise her.
When she is offered a place at finishing school she jumps at the chance to leave her miserable life behind.
At school she meets Mr Shandlin, who acknowledges her intellect and encourages her to write and express herself, Eva and Mr Shandlin form a very strong bond and fall in love but when news that her sister Imelda's health has taken a turn to the worse she must return home.
Mr Shandlin pursues Eva and the relationship angers her stepsister, who in the eve of World War I is fanatical about men going to war to defend their country.


Eva must make the toughest choice: to save her love for Mr Shandlin, who refuses to go to war, or to give him a white feather of cowardice in order to secure the funds to save her sister from a life threatening illness.
Eva's decision will have terrible consequences for both herself and Mr Shandlin and will haunt her for the rest of her life.


White Feathers is a very believable novel with realistic characters which draw you into the story and take you on an emotional journey through World War I.
It is an absolute pageturner which deals with hard issues like family, honour, valour, war, class, race, sexual orientation and women's issues like the right to vote and their role in marriage.
I was immersed in Eva's life and could not put the book down until the journey was over,

The middle of the book reminded me of the wonderful BBC drama The Crimson Field and it made Eva even more believable and human.
Susan Lanigan expertly brings war to life and gives us a detailed account of the raw emotions felt by both the nurses in the field and the soldiers fighting in it.
This story touches very raw emotions and realities of war and how it changes people's lives,

This is a superb debut novel which promises many great things from Susan Lanigan,