Article and Interview by Elise Cooper
Where the Sky Begins by Rhys Bowen is another home run regarding this historical novel. The reality of World War II plays a huge role in this novel. Readers will take a journey with the characters as they see families separated when the children are sent to the countryside, husbands being called to fight in the war, the high casualty rate of RAF fighters, the societal class system, the civilian casualties after the German bombings, and the rationing of food.
Readers meet Josie Banks in 1940 London. She has an overbearing husband who likes to emotionally harass her. After he is called into service their home is hit by a German bomb. Luckily, after sifting through the ruin of rubble and ash they find an injured Josie. Evacuated to the English countryside during her recovery, Josie ends up at the estate of aristocratic Miss Harcourt, a reluctant host to the surviving Josie.
Josie shows her traits of courage, cleverness, observation, has a big heart, a sense of right and wrong, and her love for reading. Slowly she and Miss Harcourt form a bond of sorts. This irritates Kathleen, the actual mansion’s servant, who resents Josie and is jealous of her. Because the estate is adjacent to an air base, Josie gets the consent of Miss Harcourt to open a tearoom, bringing a feeling of home for the airmen. One of those she meets is Wing Commander Mike Johnson, a Canadian pilot who shows Josie respect and kindness. As both grow fond of each other Josie must figure out how to deal with the conflict she is having between desire and obligation.
This is a riveting story with many twists and turns. The bonus is that readers learn the character’s personal emotions, challenges, and struggles. The characters come alive as the story progresses.
Elise Cooper: Idea for the story?
Rhys Bowen: One of my best friends lives in that part of England where the land is very flat, and the sky goes on forever. When I visited them, I toured a lot of the air museums. I saw the actual WWII bombers and climbed inside one. This area was the hub of bombing activity.
EC: Citizens were being bombed in London by the Nazis?
RB: Yes. I started to think where they would go to escape this feeling of being overwhelmed. I thought of this woman, Josie, who grew up in London and was pulled from the rubble with nothing. She had to start over with nothing. She was taken to the countryside where her life took one step forward. Because she was situated next to an air base, she became conscious of the war all the time. Every night the Germans had these waves of planes coming over London raining bombs on everybody. Many parents put their children on trains headed for the countryside even though they did not know where they were going. A small child was sent to people that were complete strangers.
EC: The English had very hard times during the war?
RB: Everything was rationed at that time. I collected ration books. They were only able to get ¼ of a pound of meat per person per week. It had to last. Even if someone had coupons, they might not get the item wanted because it ran out. The Germans bombed the merchant ships that brought in the supplies.
EC: How would you describe Jose?
RB: Resilient, honest, sarcastic, hopeful, spirited, kind, and smart. She had a desire for beauty. Josie had perseverance and came through with everything life throws out at her. My favorite scene in the book is when she realizes she is stuck with a bullying badly wounded husband. As the bombs were being dropped, she yells ‘take me, here I am.’ I found it very emotionally overwhelming to write the scene.
EC: There was a discussion of the different classes of society, and I thought of “My Fair Lady”?
RB: Josie wants to improve herself and the war gave her and others the opportunity to do it. Able to do something important gave many tremendous self-esteems. They laughed in the face of utter despair and were content with so little. During my lifetime someone hears how people speak and immediately puts them into a pigeonhole. Josie speaks the ungrammatical Cockney, which means she was a working-class person.
EC: How would you describe the pilot, Mike?
RB: He is a decent, kind, caring, protective, brave, honorable, and likeable guy. He is hesitant about making friendships because he is carrying around this awful secret.
EC: What about the relationship between the pilot Mike and Josie?
RB: He was a Canadian, so he did not care about the class situation of Josie. He treats her with respect.
EC: The role of the books?
RB: The books expanded her life. The Nine Tailors was set in that part of the country; Little Women was a classic children’s book; and The White Oaks talks about a family in Canada. The book library was the first realization where Josie and the upper-class woman, Miss Harcourt, she was staying with, had anything in common. Remember when Josie first arrives Miss Harcourt says, ‘we will have to decide your duties.’ Josie immediately replies that she is willing to help, but ‘I ain’t no servant.’ Seeing Josie in the library for the first time allows Miss Harcourt to realize that some of the barriers can be broken down.
EC: How would you describe Kathleen, the actual servant?
RB: She is Irish and was sent to England to be a servant. When Josie comes, she is conflicted and jealous that Josie is getting Ms. Harcourt’s attention. She can be temperamental, emotional, grumpy, and resentful. She is not very bright and is afraid of losing what she has.
EC: Ms. Harcourt had a tough life?
RB: Even though she is the classic British aristocrat, she is now in a world that no longer exists for her. Because of her hard life she has become reclusive, not allowing anyone to get close to her. Ms. Harcourt is in her own little cocoon of her own making.
EC: Any movies/TV shows on the horizon?
RB: “The Constable Evans series,” my first, set in Wales is close to being developed by a Welsh movie company. It looks promising. The writer for this is the writer for “Doc Martin,” a TV series about a doctor in a Cornish village, a comedy-drama. I am meeting him when I go to England in a few weeks.
EC: What about your next books?
RB: In November is the next Royal Highness book titled Peril in Paris. This series overall is light-hearted. But because of the political background of Europe, it is getting a little more serious as we get closer to WWII. The mother is with this German industrialist trapped in Berlin. The setting for this story is a fashion show at Chanel. The plot delves into getting a Jewish person out of Germany.
Next March is a Molly Murphy book that I am writing with my daughter. It is titled All That Is Hidden. It delves into Tammany Hall politics, and corruptness at the docks.
The next historical takes place in Paris before the war, in England and Paris during the war, and Australia after the war. The title is called Island of Lost Boys. The plot has a woman studying at the Sorbonne, falls in love, marries, and then is sent to England to keep her safe.
EC: THANK YOU!!
