The Last Night in London
New York Times bestselling author Karen White weaves a captivating story of friendship, love, and betrayal that moves between war-torn London during the Blitz and the present day. London, 1939. Beautiful and ambitious Eva Harlow and her American best friend, Precious Dubose, are trying to make their way as fashion models. When Eva falls in love with Graham St. John, an aristocrat and Royal Air Force pilot, she can't believe her luck--she's getting everything she ever wanted. Then the Blitz devastates her world, and Eva finds herself slipping into a web of intrigue, spies, and secrets. As Eva struggles to protect her friendship with Precious and everything she holds dear, all it takes is one unwary moment to change their lives forever... London, 2019. American journalist Maddie Warner, whose life has been marked by the tragic loss of her mother, travels to London to interview Precious about her life in pre-WWII London. Maddie has been careful to close herself off to others, but in Precious she recognizes someone whose grief rivals her own--but unlike Maddie, Precious hasn't allowed it to crush her. Maddie finds herself drawn to both Precious and to Colin, her enigmatic surrogate nephew. As Maddie gets closer to her, she begins to unravel Precious's haunting past--a story of friendship, betrayal, and the unremembered acts of kindness and of love.
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Community Reviews
Karen White delivers a richly emotional, absorbing story about two women, members of the Greatest Generation, whose lives and futures were forever changed by ambition, friendship, war, and betrayal.
The story opens in February 1939. Eva and Precious share a small flat and work as models for Madame Lushtak, whose wealthy clientele are able to afford designer gowns to wear to their society affairs. Eva adores beautiful things and aspires to live the kind of life Madame Lushtak's customers lead, accepting damaged clothing and cosmetics from their kind makeup artist, Mr. Danek, who is originally from a small Czechoslovakian town near Prague. Eva works diligently to modify her accent and never give away the truth about her background. She is the daughter of an illiterate laundress in Muker. Eva's father, an abusive drunk, was eventually incarcerated and Eva sends money to her mother every week. Indeed, Eva is not her real name, but one she adopted because it sounded more sophisticated than Ethel.
The course of Eva's is set the day she and Precious model gowns for Sophia St. John and her mother. Sophia is engaged to David Eliot, and her brother, Graham, accompanies the women to the showroom. A few days later when Graham and Eva meet again on the street and recognize each other, their relationship begins. She concocts a story about her upbringing, confident that if Graham knew the truth about her family, he would never be interested in her -- and his family would shun her. Soon she is re-introduced to Sophie, along with David and his old friend from school, Alexander Grof. Eva is immediately unsettled by the way he looks at her with his piercing gray eyes that seem to see right through her. "He was an attractive, magnetic man, but he was like the luscious red apple hanging from the tree, beautiful to look at, possibly poisonous if eaten." She has no way of knowing at that moment that he will play a prominent role in her life.
White relates that the friendship of Eva and Precious, which is the centerpiece of The Last Night in London, was inspired by her relationship with her own best friend. The two met in London when they were sixteen-year-old juniors in high school and remain best pals. She fashioned the relationship of Eva and Precious after their personalities and interactions, explaining that while her friend is "very calm, I can be very dramatic and excitable. We fit together nicely, complimenting each other’s personalities,. . ." Precious likewise tries to keep Eva grounded when her fanciful and lofty dreams threaten to carry her too far from reality. But she is happy for Eva when she meets Graham.
The story was also inspired by readers clamoring for the completion of Maddie Warner’s story. Maddie was a teenager when she appeared in two of White's previous novels. Their urging dovetailed with White's desire to craft a story featuring an American living in London. So in a separate first-person narrative, commencing in May 2019, Maddie, now a journalist living in New York City, arrives in London to work with her long-time friend Arabella to interview Precious, sort through her collection of vintage clothing and select pieces for an exhibit on 1940s fashion at the Design Museum, and write an article. Maddie quickly realizes that although physically frail, Precious's memories are intact . . . and punctuated by grief. Precious instantly recognizes that she and Maddie have a great deal in common, asking Maddie if she lost someone she loved and observing, "Whoever said time heals all wounds is a liar. Grief is like a ghost, isn't it? Haunting our reflections."
White deftly alternates the narratives, detailing the experiences of Eva and Precious as England inches closer to a declaration of war on Germany, while, in 2019, Maddie is assisted by Arabella and Colin in her quest to learn the fates of Eva and Graham. Precious maintains only that she lost touch with them. "It was the war, you see. So easy to lose touch with friends." And she is not forthcoming with details about what happened to her and her friends during those fraught days before they were finally separated from each other, cryptically observing that "just because a person is lost doesn't mean they want to be found." Maddie ponders whether Precious has actually been waiting to be set free of her ghosts while there's still time, even as the ghost of her own mother's demise and memory have fueled the decisions she has made about her own life.
Eva learns that first impressions are usually accurate and one can never fully escape their past as, largely due to her naivete, she is involuntarily entangled in a dangerous web of espionage, deceit, and despair. As White reveals the pre-War developments, she injects clues that inform the modern-day search for the truth, cleverly linking the storylines and compelling both forward and sparking readers' interest in their resolution. Of course, it wouldn't be a Karen White novel without romance, and she compassionately reveals Maddie's inner torment as her attraction to Colin grows. Maddie decided long ago not to risk a long-term, committed relationship because she believes she knows how her own story will play out. But she finds it increasingly difficult to deny her deepening feelings for Colin. Meanwhile, her Aunt Cassie constantly calls and texts, seeking updates about Maddie's romantic life and insisting that she come home to Georgia to attend her sister's wedding. Their exchanges are frequently hilarious and relatable.
White says she hopes readers of The Last Night in London will gain "a new awareness of the sacrifices and bravery of ordinary people who would not surrender even during a time of great strife." The story of Eva, Precious, and Graham is heartbreaking and haunting, populated by a cast of supporting characters who are equally fascinating and play important roles in plot developments. Readers may figure out the tale's biggest twist quickly, but that doesn't detract from the enjoyment of discovering how expertly White has constructed a complicated story set in two different time periods.
White has many devoted fans and, for them, The Last Night in London will not disappoint. But she will undoubtedly garner new readers, as well, because of the masterful and captivating way she relates a story of friendship, sacrifice, selflessness, betrayal, grief, and, ultimately, love. And illustrates that, in order to reinvent oneself, it is only necessary to believe we are worthy of love.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
The story opens in February 1939. Eva and Precious share a small flat and work as models for Madame Lushtak, whose wealthy clientele are able to afford designer gowns to wear to their society affairs. Eva adores beautiful things and aspires to live the kind of life Madame Lushtak's customers lead, accepting damaged clothing and cosmetics from their kind makeup artist, Mr. Danek, who is originally from a small Czechoslovakian town near Prague. Eva works diligently to modify her accent and never give away the truth about her background. She is the daughter of an illiterate laundress in Muker. Eva's father, an abusive drunk, was eventually incarcerated and Eva sends money to her mother every week. Indeed, Eva is not her real name, but one she adopted because it sounded more sophisticated than Ethel.
The course of Eva's is set the day she and Precious model gowns for Sophia St. John and her mother. Sophia is engaged to David Eliot, and her brother, Graham, accompanies the women to the showroom. A few days later when Graham and Eva meet again on the street and recognize each other, their relationship begins. She concocts a story about her upbringing, confident that if Graham knew the truth about her family, he would never be interested in her -- and his family would shun her. Soon she is re-introduced to Sophie, along with David and his old friend from school, Alexander Grof. Eva is immediately unsettled by the way he looks at her with his piercing gray eyes that seem to see right through her. "He was an attractive, magnetic man, but he was like the luscious red apple hanging from the tree, beautiful to look at, possibly poisonous if eaten." She has no way of knowing at that moment that he will play a prominent role in her life.
White relates that the friendship of Eva and Precious, which is the centerpiece of The Last Night in London, was inspired by her relationship with her own best friend. The two met in London when they were sixteen-year-old juniors in high school and remain best pals. She fashioned the relationship of Eva and Precious after their personalities and interactions, explaining that while her friend is "very calm, I can be very dramatic and excitable. We fit together nicely, complimenting each other’s personalities,. . ." Precious likewise tries to keep Eva grounded when her fanciful and lofty dreams threaten to carry her too far from reality. But she is happy for Eva when she meets Graham.
The story was also inspired by readers clamoring for the completion of Maddie Warner’s story. Maddie was a teenager when she appeared in two of White's previous novels. Their urging dovetailed with White's desire to craft a story featuring an American living in London. So in a separate first-person narrative, commencing in May 2019, Maddie, now a journalist living in New York City, arrives in London to work with her long-time friend Arabella to interview Precious, sort through her collection of vintage clothing and select pieces for an exhibit on 1940s fashion at the Design Museum, and write an article. Maddie quickly realizes that although physically frail, Precious's memories are intact . . . and punctuated by grief. Precious instantly recognizes that she and Maddie have a great deal in common, asking Maddie if she lost someone she loved and observing, "Whoever said time heals all wounds is a liar. Grief is like a ghost, isn't it? Haunting our reflections."
White deftly alternates the narratives, detailing the experiences of Eva and Precious as England inches closer to a declaration of war on Germany, while, in 2019, Maddie is assisted by Arabella and Colin in her quest to learn the fates of Eva and Graham. Precious maintains only that she lost touch with them. "It was the war, you see. So easy to lose touch with friends." And she is not forthcoming with details about what happened to her and her friends during those fraught days before they were finally separated from each other, cryptically observing that "just because a person is lost doesn't mean they want to be found." Maddie ponders whether Precious has actually been waiting to be set free of her ghosts while there's still time, even as the ghost of her own mother's demise and memory have fueled the decisions she has made about her own life.
Eva learns that first impressions are usually accurate and one can never fully escape their past as, largely due to her naivete, she is involuntarily entangled in a dangerous web of espionage, deceit, and despair. As White reveals the pre-War developments, she injects clues that inform the modern-day search for the truth, cleverly linking the storylines and compelling both forward and sparking readers' interest in their resolution. Of course, it wouldn't be a Karen White novel without romance, and she compassionately reveals Maddie's inner torment as her attraction to Colin grows. Maddie decided long ago not to risk a long-term, committed relationship because she believes she knows how her own story will play out. But she finds it increasingly difficult to deny her deepening feelings for Colin. Meanwhile, her Aunt Cassie constantly calls and texts, seeking updates about Maddie's romantic life and insisting that she come home to Georgia to attend her sister's wedding. Their exchanges are frequently hilarious and relatable.
White says she hopes readers of The Last Night in London will gain "a new awareness of the sacrifices and bravery of ordinary people who would not surrender even during a time of great strife." The story of Eva, Precious, and Graham is heartbreaking and haunting, populated by a cast of supporting characters who are equally fascinating and play important roles in plot developments. Readers may figure out the tale's biggest twist quickly, but that doesn't detract from the enjoyment of discovering how expertly White has constructed a complicated story set in two different time periods.
White has many devoted fans and, for them, The Last Night in London will not disappoint. But she will undoubtedly garner new readers, as well, because of the masterful and captivating way she relates a story of friendship, sacrifice, selflessness, betrayal, grief, and, ultimately, love. And illustrates that, in order to reinvent oneself, it is only necessary to believe we are worthy of love.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
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