I think I was eight when I first read The Guests of War Trilogy by Kit Pearson. I can’t remember if I got the books from the school library or the public library, or even if I purchased them for myself (my parents’ book-buying ban having already been in place by then), but I do know that over the next four years I read them over and over again, absorbing every detail about the lives of Norah and Gavin Stokes, two English children evacuated to Canada during the Second World War. I loved these books. I cried over them, I sighed over them, and I came away from them with a fascination for wartime social history which, as you well know, has stuck with me through the years. I had been a bit scared to try them again as an adult – how could they possibly live up to my memories? – but am thrilled to report that I love them now just as much if not more than I did as I child.
The Sky is Falling (1989) begins in August 1940, when ten-year old Norah Stokes is having the best summer of her life. The adults around her might be anxious about the aerial dogfights being waged in the skies above their Kentish village but for Norah and her friends the Battle of Britain is endlessly thrilling and they spend hours learning to identify all the different planes involved. But Norah’s perfect summer is disrupted when her parents tell her that they have decided to send her and her five-year old brother Gavin to Canada as “war guests”. For Norah who has joined her friends in reviling their classmates who have already been evacuated, it is a crushing blow. She wants to stay in England, to take part in the war, not be sent away to safety like a coward. But at ten, her opinion matters very little and soon she and Gavin are on a ship, bound for Canada. Once they arrive they make their way to Toronto, where they are taken in by the wealthy, domineering widow Mrs. Florence Ogilvie and her timid middle-aged daughter, Mary. Mrs Ogilvie had only wanted Gavin but was forced to take Norah as well, something Norah unfortunately overheard and instantly soured her against her new guardians.
The novel follows Norah’s unhappy first few months in Canada. Norah is obnoxious, which is I think part of what I found so refreshing when I first read this as a child and what I still appreciate now. As a reader, you feel her pain and anger and loneliness and can sympathize with her, but you still see how she is hurting those around her, especially Gavin. Having been told by her parents to take special care of Gavin, Norah ignores him almost completely from the moment their journey begins. At five, he is equally scared but much more adaptable and she lashes out at him when he begins to forget their family and home in England. He is coddled by Mrs Ogilvie (Aunt Florence), who having lost her beloved son Hugh during the last war in thrilled to have a little boy in the house once more, and being kept so much in adult company is lonely. Norah remains oblivious to his attempts to reach out to her, caught up in her own sorrow, and I think as an adult I feel the poignancy of those rebuffs even more than I did when I was younger.
Very, very slowly, Norah begins to find things that make life tolerable in Toronto. She makes a few friends – one suitable, according to Aunt Florence, and one not – and finds a refuge at the public library, where the young librarian is only too happy to help an eager young reader find new books. She worries constantly about her family in England, longing to return to them, but, finally, her tense relationship with Aunt Florence comes to a crisis point and a tentative peace in made between the strong-willed woman and the equally strong-willed girl.
My favourite book in the trilogy was always Looking at the Moon (1991) and my copy is ridiculously worn when compared to the other two books. It is the most girly of the books, dealing with typically female coming of age rites like first love and periods, which is part of what fascinated me as a girl but mostly I adored the setting: the entire story takes place a Gairloch, the magical family cottage in Muskoka where days are spent swimming, sailing, and running around the island.
Set during the summer of 1943, Norah is now thirteen and has been in Canada for almost three years. She has friends in Toronto, is settled into school and is doing well, and has atoned for the brief months she neglected Gavin after they first arrived. She even gets along with Aunt Florence. But as much as she loves Gairloch and adores being surrounded by her “cousins” there, the war and her family are constantly in her thoughts. The contrast between her life and theirs weighs on her and, as always, she worries that Gavin is forgetting their parents and sisters. But she is still a thirteen year old girl and her main worry that summer is her new love for nineteen-year old Andrew, one of the “cousins”.
Andrew is the family’s golden boy, the one who can do no wrong, the one who even Aunt Florence views as almost as perfect as her dearly loved Hugh. He is smart and handsome, kind and obliging, and, as Norah learns, suffering under the weight of his family’s expectations. As Norah gets to know Andrew better, he confides in her some of the things he cannot tell his family: his longing to be an actor, his fear of disappointing everyone, and his horror at the idea of being forced to kill people. These conversations, though not the lover-like tête-à-têtes Norah likes to fantasize about, force her to reconsider her view of the war and her image of courage.
I was worried that reading this as an adult would reveal weaknesses I hadn’t seen as a child, but it did not. Instead, I appreciated it even more, recognizing how perfectly Pearson captured the complexities of both Norah and Andrew, both of whom possess unusual maturity but also the typical contradictions and weaknesses of teenagers. They feel spectacularly real to me. And I don’t think I had ever fully appreciated the contrast Gairloch provides to the war-torn world. It is the ultimate safe haven, where children and adults are free to play and relax and forget what is going on in Europe and Asia for as long as they can – until a letter comes from Norah and Gavin’s family or the rationed butter is all used up in one meal and reality intrudes once more.
The trilogy concludes in The Lights Go On Again (1993), which focuses on Gavin rather than Norah. Beginning in late 1944 and stretching to the summer of 1945, the book focuses on Gavin’s reaction to the end of the war and the knowledge that he will soon have to return to a country and a family he doesn’t remember. Norah he knows and loves but he can’t remember much of his mother or father, his two elder sisters, or his grandfather. He has grown up in Toronto, sounds like a Canadian, and knows what it is like to live in a mansion in Rosedale, where there is always enough money for good clothes and endless numbers of toys. He has enjoyed trips across the country and summers with the “cousins” at Gairloch. He loves Aunt Florence and Aunt Mary and the thought of being sent away from them to stay with strangers, even his parents, fills him with dread.
Then the chance arrives for Aunt Florence to adopt him, for Gavin to stay in Canada forever, and he has to make the choice between the life he knows with people he loves and the unknown, where he ‘belongs’. Norah is thrilled to be going home – five years in Canada has not dulled her longing for England – but Gavin is tortured by his conflicting loyalties. To be separated from his sister is frightening, but how can he leave Aunt Florence and Aunt Mary, and all his friends at school, not to mention his dog Bos?
Even more than the other books, The Lights Go On Again focuses on the extreme differences between the Stokeses and the Ogilvies and the question of where is right for Norah and Gavin. During the war, the Ogilvies offered safety but with it the kinds of opportunities Norah and Gavin would never have encountered even during peacetime in England. They traded their lower middle class life in England for one of unusual privilege in Canada. Now, they have the chance to retain all that – the promise of the best schools, a university education, and a portion of the Ogilvie estate when Aunt Florence dies – but what do they owe their family in England? Is it better for Gavin to be with the people he already loves and who can offer him everything, or with the people he is related to but doesn’t remember? The decision is easy for Norah, who has always viewed their stay in Canada as a sort of exile and prayed for the chance to return home, but Gavin, only ten years old, struggles to decide whether home means Canada or England.
Throughout the trilogy, Pearson does a wonderful job of balancing historical detail with universal childhood themes. An eight-year old picking up the books for the first time might be most interested in Norah’s struggles at her new school, or Gavin’s experiences at the hands of a bully, but, like Gavin and Norah, can’t help but be touched by the details of the war that pervade each book. This may be a young reader’s first brush with the Second World War, the way he or she first learns of wartime evacuees, rationing, prisoner of war camps, and V-2 rockets, and Pearson incorporates the details remarkably well – far less clumsily than most adult historical fiction writers, actually. For me, this sparked a lifelong curiousity about wartime Britain that still drives much of my reading. But, most importantly, these books left me with an appreciation and expectation of balanced storytelling. Pearson does not tell simple stories and there is nothing simple about her characters, which is what makes these books just as satisfying to read now as when I first encountered them eighteen years ago.
I’m off to do a search but I don’t think these books were ever available in the UK. If they were then they certainly didn’t make it onto my radar as either an avid child reader nor a lecturer in children’s literature and I can think of all sorts of occasions when I could have referred to them in the work I did. Thank you for introducing me to them, now I’m off to see if I can find copies.
Glad to have been able to make the introduction now, Alex, though it does seem a shame that they weren’t readily available when you might have been able to use them in your work!
I’ve never come across these either, and I think I’d have loved them as a kid – and undoubtedly would now, from your review. I’ll also be checking to see if they’re available.
Knowing you, Lisa, I am sure you would have loved these as a child – we have so many of the same childhood favourites!
I’ve never heard of this trilogy, and I was unaware that British children were relocated to Canada during WWII. The series looks incredibly interesting, and I think it would be a great way for me to learn a bit more history. Thanks for your review! I love stopping by your blog. I always wind up adding something to my TBR list after I read a review.
The numbers of war guests sent to Canada weren’t huge and smaller numbers were sent to other Dominion countries (Australia, New Zealand, and South Africia). The scheme only ran for a few months during the summer of 1940, so it is something that is overlooked in many history books. Still, it is fascinating to think about the experiences of these children and these books include all sorts of other interesting historical details as well.
Well, there went twenty minutes of my day, Claire, as I googled about, discovering not only that my library system has these books you so passionately write about, but that there is a website for the author, which is at
/www.kitpearson.com/index.html . I couldn’t figure out how these passed my by as a young girl, then realized that the author was a young girls at about the same time as I was. ha! I will most definitely be reading these soon and I just know that I will adore the series. Thank you for such an engaging review. Penny
Happy to have sparked your flurry of research, Penny! I hope you enjoy reading these and will look forward to your thoughts!
We have this trilogy on our shelves, but I haven’t read it myself. I think my son started on them but wandered away; I remember high-shelving them some years ago without anyone saying much about wanting them kept down low & accessible. I have read several other Kit Pearson books, Awake & Dreaming and The Daring Game – and thought them quite well-written and definitely memorable. Perhaps I need to give this author another go? Kit Pearson is a standard YA author here in BC – her books are often prominently displayed in the Children’s section of book stores, and are very easy to come by secondhand.
Nice review of the series – thank you.
I read most of Pearson’s other books when I was little – I remember getting Awake and Dreaming one Christmas and, since we exchange gifts on Christmas Eve, staying up all night to finish it – but these were always my favourites so, if you’re at all interested, I would urge you to give them a go. I got to meet Pearson when I was seventeen or eighteen and she came to speak at my school – her alma mater and the basis for Ashdown in The Daring Game– and I’m not sure I’ve ever been so excited to meet a ‘famous’ person before – no actor, athlete or politician has ever provoked the same enthusiasm from me as this author of some of my favourite childhood stories!
They sound like most excellent books, especially when standing up to the proof of rereading so many years later. Unfortunately my library doesn’t have anything by this author (I looked immediately) so I’ll have to try and find them secondhand. It reminds me that the Narnia series always started with the children being sent off during wartime, never addressed them being away form their family but only the fantasy…
They are excellent but, with their solidly Canadian content, I am sadly not all that surprised that they don’t seem to be readily available outside of the country. There are lots of used copies on Amazon so, if you’re interested, at least they won’t be too hard to track down!
I am off to the library at lunchtime to collect the first of this trilogy. Thanks to your review I am sure I shall enjoy these
Wonderful, Margaret! I love your enthusiasim and I hope you enjoy them!
I also read these over and over as a child! I even re-read them as an adult and to my delight, they stand the test of time and I still absolutely loved them.
It is great to hear from another Pearson fan, Joanne!
My mother and aunt nearly went from Cardiff to Canada as evacuees, but at the last minute only went to the welsh valleys instead. There was a boat that got torpedoed I think. Did not know of these books so shall try and track them down – fascinating!
The Welsh valleys would have certainly been less terrifying than an overseas journey! SS City of Benares was torpedoed in September 1940 on its way to Canada, which is what put an end to the overseas evacuations. It gets a mention in The Sky is Falling.
Thanks for this reminder about Kit Pearson. I’ve read only one of her books, Awake and Dreaming, when I had the pleasure of recording it at the CNIB. I’ve always had it in mind to pick up more, so I’ll definitely track these down.
Happy to have reminded you about Pearson, Susan!
I ordered all three on Amazon.com for one cent each plus $3.99 postage. I can’t wait to read them. I have been interested in how WW2 affected children and families with the separations.
Candyce
Wonderful, Candyce! I hope you enjoy the books and the perspective they give on the war guest experience.
Nearest book I know of is Michelle Magorian’s Back home, which is about a girl returning from the States having been a ‘seavacuee’. It is about the problems of readjustment to family.
I’d heard of Back Home but never read it. Thanks for the reminder! I can think of a number of books that deal with evacuees in the UK but no others about the overseas experience.
I think I’ve heard of Kit Pearson (the name sounds familiar) but like a few of the other commenters, this is the first I’m hearing of “war guests” and this trilogy. It sounds really intriguing, though. I’ve always wanted to learn more about the children who were sent to the English countryside during WWII and this seems to be an offshoot of the same concept (though leaving one’s country is more drastic than leaving one’s city, I would think).
It has been so interesting to read all these comments and find out how much others know or don’t know about war guests since, for me, they have been an area of interest for many years – ever since I first read this trilogy! I am also interested in the evacuee experience and have been excited to see many books on the topic come out over the last ten or so years. I loved Out of Harm’s Way by Jessica Mann particularly and have heard good things about When the Children Came Home by Julie Summers. I’ve also got Doreen by Barbara Noble (published by Persephone) on my shelves and am looking forward to reading it.
Thank you for the other book mentions. I have Doreen on my TBR list already (love Persephone!) but haven’t heard of the others. I will check them out.
I am semi-heartbroken that I didn’t know about these books when I was little. My home library had them and if I’d only known! (she wailed) And the New York libraries don’t have them! But look, it’s okay. I’m handling it. I ordered the first two from PaperbackSwap, and I am crossing my fingers the third one will show up as well.
Oh Jenny, how you suffered as a youth! I am thrilled to hear that your home library does has copies (since that doesn’t seem to be the case for everyone) and even more happy that you’re tracking down the books now. I love them and am so excited to be introducing other readers to Pearson.
Oh gosh, these books sound so wonderful. Thanks! I shall try and find them via ILL.
i love these books so much i wish there were more (sorry for my english i am french)
Do you have any guesses as to what area of Toronto the Ogilvies live in? I’m reading this book with my class, and don’t know Toronto well enough to hazard a guess.
Thanks!