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Diana Raymond
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Lily's Daughter: Every family has its secrets Kindle Edition

by Diana Raymond (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.5 3.5 out of 5 stars 125 ratings
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1930s England. A moving story about family secrets and falling in love with the wrong man.

Young Jessica Mayne faces an uncertain future alone, when life takes an unexpected turn. She is invited to Huntersmeade, the home of her estranged Aunt Imogen. There she meets her handsome cousin, Guy, and Deirdre, the wealthy young woman he is expected to marry.

Is Jessica ready to discover the hidden truths about her family? And does she understand how falling in love for the first time, and with the wrong man, can be a bitter-sweet experience with far-reaching consequences?

“Diana Raymond is an observant, sensitive writer whose characters come alive.” The Daily Telegraph
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  1. Print length
    206 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    January 21, 2014
  4. File size
    1367 KB
  5. Page Flip
    Enabled
  6. Word Wise
    Enabled
  7. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00HZS2OV8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wyndham Books (Historical romance) (January 21, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 21, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1367 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 206 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.5 3.5 out of 5 stars 125 ratings

About the author

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Diana Raymond

Diana Raymond

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Diana Raymond wrote 24 novels, as well as theatre criticism and poetry.

In common with many of her generation, Diana lost her father during the First World War. He was killed at Passchendaele a year after she was born. An only child, she was educated at Cheltenham Ladies’ College thanks to financial assistance from the Officers’ Families Fund.

As a young woman, she was encouraged in her writing by her cousin, the novelist Pamela Frankau. Diana became a published author aged 20, with her novel The Door Stood Open. She published a further two novels under her maiden name, Diana Young.

Diana worked in Whitehall both before and during the Second World War. At the Committee of Imperial Defence she was personal assistant to General Ismay, who was to become Winston Churchill’s chief military assistant.

During the war, she worked at the Ministry of Food, with which she was evacuated to Colwyn Bay, before returning to London in 1940 to marry the acclaimed author Ernest Raymond (perhaps best known for Tell England and We, The Accused). The couple had a son, Peter.

Customer reviews

3.5 out of 5 stars
125 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Janie
    3.0 out of 5 stars Just Soooo Depressing!!
    Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2022
    Verified Purchase
    I did not enjoy this story at all .. I really should’ve stopped reading early on but just kept thinking that it would get better but unfortunately it did not. The best part of the book was the last half dozen pages and the last paragraph. Admittedly the writing was good and it being portrayed in first person made it interesting in that respect. But just not my cup of tea.
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  • Shirley Ford
    4.0 out of 5 stars A Glimpse of 1930's England
    Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2014
    The story is set in the 1930’s with WW2 looming and the Coronation of Kind Edward the Eighth. It is told in Jessica’s own words. She is a naïve 17 year old who is forced to have her mother committed, then discovers that several week’s rent is owing and is threatened by the owner that if she doesn’t come up with the money she will be evicted. Jessica has no idea where the money will come from. The next day returning from an unsuccessful search for a job, she decides to go through an old suitcase belonging to her mother. In it she finds a cheque which would more than cover the rent owed; and with it a letter from a solicitor. Curious, she pays the solicitor a visit the following day and discovers that he has had instructions from an anonymous client to pay Jessica more money. She pays the rent owed and moves to another rented property and signs up for a shorthand and typing course. Her mother dies suddenly and Jessica finds herself completely alone. Then, through the kindly solicitor, who can now tell her the truth, she begins a new chapter of her life, with the discovery of long-lost relatives. She is invited to the family home and there meets and falls in love for the first time with Guy her cousin. But there are family secrets she has to deal with and Guy’s inability to deal with real life and his planned marriage to Deidre.

    A well-written story, but I thought it a bit slow at times. I also found Jessica’s naivety annoying, but that can be put down to the skill of the author’s writing in creating characters that we can believe in.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Jody
    5.0 out of 5 stars The heart has its reasons
    Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2014
    Set in the England of the 1930s, Lily's Daughter offers a lovely heroine whose story of love found, betrayed, and ultimately redeemed is told in counterpoint to the gathering clouds of the Second World War. It's a compelling tale of family, love, and hope.

    The daughter of the title, Jessica herself tells her story. Having lost her mentally ill mother at 17, Jessica discovers her father's family, long estranged from Lily and her daughter. She is welcomed into an extended family containing some colorful characters; her Aunt Imogen, cousin Guy, a grandmother, Guy's intended fiancée, and longstanding friends. Everyone has secrets, and Jessica's appearance is the catalyst for events both happy and tragic. When she falls in love with Guy, everyone knows it won't turn out well, but some of the effects can't be imagined.

    Jessica's voice is what sets this novel apart. No matter how great the grief or deep the disappointment, she never loses hope. She's never self-pitying or whiny, and her capacity for love and forgiveness is extraordinary, but credible, given her background. She tells of joy and heartbreak in an understated narrative that accepts without resentment. During the course of the book, she grows from naive girl to exceptional woman, and the reader is right there at every step. Though Jessica makes some dubious choices, the reader always knows why; giving her the benefit of the doubt, and trusting as she does, that everything will turn out all right. As seen through Jessica's eyes, the characters are fully dimensional. Even the characters it would be easy to hate are given understandable motives and humanity.

    The writing is lovely. With a light touch, Ms. Raymond evokes the sights, sounds and smells of prewar London and the countryside. She turns a skillful phrase; sadness after a theater performance, an elegant woman, a nappie-strewn flat, a feckless boy who "isn't good at illness." In reflecting on the book, I think of some of the pot boiler aspects of the plot, but always come back to the quality of the writing and the character of the amazing Jess.

    Disclosure: I was given this book for review, and these are my honest opinions. The blood relationship between Jessica and Guy may be a bit close for some readers' comfort, but it didn't bother me.
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  • Kindle Customer
    4.0 out of 5 stars Short but good.
    Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2020
    An interesting read. The type of book I like to read. Hopefully the author will write more of this type.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Maddy57
    4.0 out of 5 stars An intriguing mixture of love story and family secrets.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 26, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    This is a well paced, intriguing story of a young woman reaching adulthood in the 1930's. We meet Jessica Mayne as a young teenager who has to send her mother into a mental home; this issue is well explored and has modern resonances.

    The story then moves swiftly to Jessica beginning an independent life in London.

    Her father died at the end of the First World War and his family had never been in contact but soon after her mother's death she is invited to visit them. Family secrets and divisions loom large in the story and her fate is sealed when she meets her cousin Guy and falls in love with him.

    Her relationship with Guy forms the major part of the story. She loves him but realises his flaws - basically that although he loves her he is weak and does not want responsibilities.

    Jessica is naive in some ways but ultimately she copes well with the difficult situations which many still face today.

    The background of the late 1930's is well documented - especially the abdication crisis, the growth of fascism and the outbreak of war. Jessica reacts to these in the way that many people did at the time , with a sense of anxiety and fear for the future.

    This is a good read for people who enjoy a believable love story set against the background of a family mystery in an interesting historical period. The minor characters are also intriguing and add an extra vibrancy to the story.
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  • Ernest Hemmingway
    4.0 out of 5 stars A good read; engaging and sensitively written
    Reviewed in Australia on January 28, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    A good read; engaging and sensitively written. The beginning of the story took my interest immediately and I found it was a book difficult to put down as its content really touches all of our lives in one way or another. Highly recommended.
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  • Anthony Turner
    3.0 out of 5 stars Good read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 6, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Enjoyed it.
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  • tabbycat
    3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
    Reviewed in Australia on March 14, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Quite enjoyable book. Worth purchasing.
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  • Citizen Smiff
    5.0 out of 5 stars gentle sorrow
    Reviewed in Australia on January 29, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    So sorrowful a story, yet tender and compelling. There is always hope. . . . . . . . .
    Report

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