Description

Book Synopsis

Oh my goodness another girl Mrs Swain!'
Clara's normal iron composure broke and she screamed, No! That's not the bloody deal!'
And that is how my nanna, Bertha Swain, entered the world.

When Helen Batten's marriage breaks down, she starts on a journey of discovery into her family's past and the mysteries surrounding her enigmatic nanna's early life.

What she unearths is a tale of five feisty red heads struggling to climb out of poverty and find love through two world wars. It's a story full of surprises and scandal a death in a workhouse, a son kept in a box, a shameful war record, a clandestine marriage and children taken far too soon. It's as if there is a family curse.

But Helen also finds love, resilience and hope crazy wagers, late night Charlestons and stolen kisses. As she unravels the story of Nanna and her scarlet sisters, Helen starts to break the spell of the past, and sees a way she might herself find love again.



Trade Review
Fascinating ... a moving account of survival * Yours *
Fascinating ... a moving account of survival * Yours *
This fascinating delve into family history reveals the ways in which women’s lives have – and haven’t – changed * Readers Digest *

The Scarlet Sisters

    Product form

    A Paperback / softback by Helen Batten

    £11.69

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    RRP £12.99 – you save £1.30 (10%)

    Order before 4pm today for delivery by Fri 13 Nov 2026.

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      Book details

      Publisher Penguin Random House Group
      Imprint Ebury Press
      Published 16 July 2015
      ISBN-13 9780091959692
      978-0091959692
      ISBN-10 0091959691
      Also in:
      European history Social and cultural history

      Description

      Book Synopsis

      Oh my goodness another girl Mrs Swain!'
      Clara's normal iron composure broke and she screamed, No! That's not the bloody deal!'
      And that is how my nanna, Bertha Swain, entered the world.

      When Helen Batten's marriage breaks down, she starts on a journey of discovery into her family's past and the mysteries surrounding her enigmatic nanna's early life.

      What she unearths is a tale of five feisty red heads struggling to climb out of poverty and find love through two world wars. It's a story full of surprises and scandal a death in a workhouse, a son kept in a box, a shameful war record, a clandestine marriage and children taken far too soon. It's as if there is a family curse.

      But Helen also finds love, resilience and hope crazy wagers, late night Charlestons and stolen kisses. As she unravels the story of Nanna and her scarlet sisters, Helen starts to break the spell of the past, and sees a way she might herself find love again.



      Trade Review
      Fascinating ... a moving account of survival * Yours *
      Fascinating ... a moving account of survival * Yours *
      This fascinating delve into family history reveals the ways in which women’s lives have – and haven’t – changed * Readers Digest *

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