Fields of Grace by Wendy Waters

Fields of Grace

by Wendy Waters.

(Historical Fiction)

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From the author of Catch The Moon, Mary comes this epic drama spanning seven decades. Set against a backdrop of war in 1930s’ Europe, Grace Fieldergill, a starry-eyed young actress from Devon, moves to London to pursue her dream of becoming a star. The lovable boarders of Wyncote House, a ladies-only establishment, take her under their collective wing and share her triumph when she is accepted into the brilliant young John Gielgud’s company as Peggy Ashcroft’s understudy. When Peggy misses a show one night, Grace gets her chance. Watching her performance that evening are two people who will change her life forever, London’s most famous actress, Mrs. Patrick Campbell, and a man whose love she never thought she could win.

A Word from the Author

Fields of Grace started life as a short story loosely based on my grandmother’s shattered career as a concert violinist in 30s London. My story won the Women’s Weekly/Penguin Short Story Contest 2007 and a publisher at Penguin suggested I turn it into a full-length novel.

My grandmother was a world class musician whose success was cut short by the burgeoning menace of Hitler. Deeming it unsafe to stay in London she returned to Australia and made the best of her life but her early promise never came to fruition.

My background is in theatre, so I made my protagonist an actress rather than a musician. I had a trunk full of my grandmother’s programs, magazines and diaries from this brief but extraordinary episode in her life and I used them to get a picture of London in the 1930s as well as prices and popular items of the day.

The story has been described by Sarah Sansom as a searingly beautiful love letter to the Arts and I would have to agree. To read Sarah’s full review please go to Book Review: Fields of Grace – The Book’s Whiskers (wordpress.com)

(Wendy Waters, November 2020)