The Soldier’s Wife (Pamela Hart, Hachette)

The Soldier’s Wife is a curate’s egg of a novel in that it is excellent in parts. Written by Pamela Freeman under the pen name Pamela Hart, it evokes WWI Sydney to the point where the reader can almost feel the salty wind blowing off the harbour as the troops are shipped out through the Heads. Yet this detail threatens to spoil things at times. Hart has been meticulous in her research—the weather described is the actual weather for 1915-16, for instance—but at times it feels as though she can’t bear to let any of her research go to waste. The novel tells the story of soldier’s wife Ruby Hawkins, whose life changes irrevocably when she begins working as a bookkeeper while her husband is fighting in the Dardanelles. Hart explores the tragedy of war and women’s place in it before opting for a less obvious ending to her story. The Soldier’s Wife was inspired by telegrams sent from the author’s grandfather, who fought at Gallipoli, and for this reason alone it is sure to resonate with the many Australian readers who have similar connections.

Felicity McLean is a journalist and ghostwriter

Category: Reviews