Synopsis of when the world fell silent
Title:When the World Fell Silent
Author:Donna Jones Alward
Genre:Historical Fiction
Rating:4.00
Pub Date:August 6, 2024
I received a complimentary eARC from HarperCollins Canada via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #Gifted
T H R E E • W O R D S
Emotional • Devastating • Redemptive
📖 S Y N O P S I S
1917. Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Having lost her beloved husband in the trenches and with no-one else to turn to, Charlotte Campbell now lives with his haughty relations who treat her like the help. It is baby Aileen, the joy and light of her life, who spurs her to dream of a better life.
Nora Crowell wants more than her sister’s existence as a wife and mother. As WWI rages across the Atlantic, she becomes a lieutenant in the Canadian Army Nursing Corp. But trouble is looming and it won’t be lengthy before the truth comes to light.
When tragedy strikes in Halifax Harbour, nothing for these two women will ever be the same again. Their paths will cross in the most unexpected way, trailing both heartbreak and joy its wake.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Historical fiction with a Canadian setting is one of m
When the World Fell Silent
Charlotte Campbell is a widow, her husband Frank died in the war and she lives with his family and they treat her like a servant. What keeps her going is her daughter Aileen, when she can she takes her baby for a walk in her pram and they sleep in the attic together and Charlotte is plotting their escape.
Both women acquire no idea disaster is about to strike in the engaged Halifax Harbour, where convoys exit for Britain and France and what starts off as an ordinary day, and the 6th of December 1917 will be remembered as the date of the biggest tragedies in Canadian history occurred.
A loud noise and smoke is what the residents first see and notice when two ships collid
When The World Fell Silent by Donna Jones Alward
On Tuesday, August 20th, we celebrated the official launch of Donna Alward’s first historical fiction, When The World Fell Silent. 27 people braved the heat at the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia, 1113 Marginal Road, Halifax to hear Donna provide some background about her story set during and after the Halifax Explosion, and act a reading from her guide. Our very own Erin O’Neill interviewed Donna with some very insightful questions.
Since 2006, New York Times bestselling author Donna Jones Alward has enchanted readers with stories of happy endings and homecomings that have won several awards and been translated into over a dozen languages. After writing 60-plus romance novels, When the World Fell Silent is Donna’s premier historical fiction and she has been reviewed as achieving this difficult genre switch perfectly. For historical fiction fans, Donna’s writing has been compared to Lisa Wingate and Genevieve Graham. She writes about robust women with an underlying theme of the importance of family. Her new historical fiction tales blend her love of history with characters who step bey
4.5 Stars. This well-researched historical novel about a tragic time in Halifax centres on the great Halifax Explosion and its aftermath, told through the lives of two women who survived. In December 1917, World War I was raging in Europe, and many local men were serving overseas, and some died there. Halifax Harbour served as the site where ships were destined for the war zone and where they returned with injured soldiers. Two ships collided, and one was carrying tons of explosives. Part of the city was flattened, 2000 died, and approximately 9000 were injured. Many were blinded by shattered glass. This was the most enormous man-made explosion until Hiroshima was bombed.
Nora lived at her sister's home. She was very close to her sister. Her sister's husband has been deployed overseas as a soldier, and they had two young children. Several boarders had rooms at the home. Nora wants more than her sister's life as a stay-at-home wife and mother. Nora became a lieutenant in the Canadian Army Nursing Corps and worked at Camp Hill Hospital, built to care for 300 wounded soldiers. Soon, the exhausted doctors and nurses were working day and night day and night to treat
Thoughts From the Mountain Top
Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins Publishers, and Donna Jones Alward for the advanced reader copy of the book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.
I first heard about the 1917 explosion in Halifax, Nova Scotia when I was on a transatlantic cruise that stopped in Halifax. I’d never heard about it before then, which surprised me. When I saw this historical fiction publication based on that incident, I was very eager to decipher it.
Nora Crowell is a nurse living in Halifax with her sister Jane. Jane is a married mother of two juvenile girls whose husband is fighting in World War I. She has three male boarders at her home to look out for her in addition to Nora. Nora loves her sister, but not her life. Nora is centered on being a career woman and loves existence a nurse as she tends to men who were sent home from the war. It’s not always easy, but Nora likes the work.
In another part of Halifax, Charlotte Campbell is a young war widow with a child to care for. She lives in the dwelling of her late husband’s family, who treats her more appreciate a servant than a