The Linen Queen

Patricia Falvey

Sheila cannot wait to escape the drudgery of her life in Northern Ireland. She works in the local linen mill but Sheila craves a place where she will get the love she deserves. London may be under attack by the Germans but it still offers far more opportunity for a clever and attractive young woman such as herself. She wins the title of Linen Queen which does wonders for her self-esteem but her mother has plans for her prize-money which she would have used to escape and it seems her looks aren't enough to get the necessary papers to enter England in the midst of the war. Sheila continues to look for a means of escape and finds it in the arrival of US troops who arrive in her village. At first she sees only excitement in this new situation and then maybe a different path to freedom in the form of an attractive army officer named Joel. Joel's affection and wisdom begin to affect Sheila and the arrival of a street-wise evacuee from Belfast and her childhood friend Gavin further complicate her plans. As the war moves closer to those she has grown to love Sheila will not only confront more abandonment and loss but also find true strength compassion and a meaning for her life outside of herself.>