As my followers will know, this post would normally be entitled ‘Chatting With…Elaine Everest’. It was a huge personal blow and a devastating loss to all her friends and followers when we learned of her passing in August. However, we are blessed indeed that Elaine has left us a huge legacy in her books. So, with no builders’ tea and biscuits to share with her, I give you my thoughts on A Christmas Wish at Woolworths.

In A Christmas Wish at Woolworths, Elaine takes us back to Erith and her huge cast of characters. It’s 1953 and Sarah, Maisie and Freda have come a long way since we first met them in the late 1930s. There are the usual bad eggs – we learn very early on that Gloria needs watching very closely – and the threat of closure to the beloved Erith branch of Woolworths. Maisie has moved upmarket and her new neighbour doesn’t consider her and her family posh enough. She’s a curtain twitcher and a troublemaker.

There are so many characters and threads running through this book but, due to Elaine’s talent, we never lose our way. As ever, the attention to detail and the links that Elaine had with Erith bring us to a joyful ending at Christmas and a very personal nod to Elaine herself, as you will see if you read her letter and reference to the Hainault Maternity Home at the end of the book.

There are eleven books in this series, the last will be published in 2025. Elaine has taken us on a journey and I, for one, have come to love her characters. I can only recommend A Christmas Wish at Woolworths as I have all those that came before.

Thank you, my friend, for giving me and your loyal readers a world so real that I can’t believe the characters came from your imagination. That said, I know some of them are based in real life. Rest in peace, Elaine. Your books are your legacy and I thank you for it.

Natalie

Amazon: https://bit.ly/3XVBSS8