Sixty-Four, Ninety-Four by the late English author R. H. Mottram, who was also a wartime poet and later lord mayor of Norwich, is the 2nd novel in the The Spanish Farm Trilogy of historical literary fiction, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press.
This was originally published in 1927 by Chatto & Windus. The first novel in the trilogy won the Hawthornden Prize. The stories are set during World War I and depict the impacts of the war upon daily civilian life as well as soldierly routine, written partially from the author’s own experiences, set in Northern France at “The Spanish Farm”, an accommodation for young British soldiers heading to and from the trenches which becomes a sort of sanctuary, run by a strong-willed Flemish farmer’s daughter.
This installment has f/m romantic elements (though not necessarily a happy ending), featuring a French-speaking Lieutenant whose way out of the dangerous trenches is a reassignment to translate for the woman who runs the Spanish Farm, with whom he will have many encounters later throughout the war as he begins to reluctantly fall for her even as she begins to despair of receiving word of her former lover who had departed to join the war effort, and personal and cultural clashes may doom their nascent relationship.
Offered worldwide, available at Amazon.
Free for a limited time @ Amazon (should be available worldwide).
Description
How far would you go to get your way out of the trenches?
Geoffrey Skene has been fighting as a Lieutenant in the trenches for a year, coming close to death on many occasions. Now he has a way out. His ability to speak fluent French leads to him being chosen to translate for a Flemish woman claiming damages for the billet she runs: the Spanish Farm. A turn of fate that may well have saved his life by taking him away from the front-line, the job also serves as his introduction to Madeleine Vanderlynden, a tenacious farmer’s daughter, renowned among the troops who pass through her farm for being as strong as any man and with better business sense.
As the war unfolds, Skene is fated to cross paths with Madeleine on numerous occasions over the years, both in Paris and back at the Spanish Farm. To Skene, Madeleine becomes synonymous with the farm itself – a kind of sanctuary providing the care and comfort that war is utterly devoid of. And over time, in his desperation to be cared for, he begins to fall for her. With Madeleine sick of the stalemate of the war and fast giving up hope on hearing anything from her secret lover, a relationship begins to develop between the two. The war may have brought them together. But as time it turns out they are wildly unsuited to each other, and the clash of cultures and personalities becomes increasingly apparent.
Sixty-Four, Ninety-Four is part II of the Spanish Farm Trilogy. The trilogy is widely acknowledged as one of the great classics of World War One fiction, ranked alongside Goodbye To All Thatand The Secret Battle. Perfect for fans of
With Blackjack and Hookers 