Where loyalty lies
Pam Lecky finds inspiration in her family’s wartime experiences
Costco’s suggested Book Club read provides insight into a selected novel, as well as an appropriate recipe to accompany your own book club’s discussion.
Pam Lecky’s latest historical novel, Her Secret War, explores love and espionage in war-torn Britain. When Sarah Gillespie, a young Irishwoman, loses her family and home during the May 1941 Luftwaffe bombing of Ireland, she seeks refuge with relatives in England. Sarah begins work at Vickers Supermarine, the makers of the iconic Spitfire planes, but when the authorities challenge Sarah to prove her loyalty by undertaking a mission to uncover a spy, she is drawn into the dark world of World War II espionage, where her courage could save lives—possibly at the cost of her own.
Lecky grew up in Clontarf, a few miles from the North Strand area of Dublin where the bombing occurred, and says her family history inspired the novel. “I was intrigued that my mother and aunts left the safety of rural Ireland to work in war- torn Birmingham, England,” recalls Lecky. “One aunt was employed in a munitions factory, another was trained as a nurse and my mother was a ‘clippie’—a conductress— on the buses.”
Although Her Secret War isn’t their story, fragments of Lecky’s relatives’ lives are scattered throughout it and its sequel, Her Last Betrayal, coming later this year.
“In Europe wartime food rationing meant that the normal comfort foods, which might have helped ease anxiety, were unavailable,” says Lecky. “In Britain, mothers struggled to feed their families, enduring long lines, only to secure meager, often poor-quality, supplies.”
In her novel, Sarah’s aunt and uncle fare better than city dwellers as they have a garden to grow fruit and vegetables and can barter their produce. “As Sarah’s uncle comments, they must fall back on the old ways of doing things,” explains Lecky.
For a book club discussion of Her Secret War, Lecky suggests setting the mood with 1940s swing music, preferably by Benny Goodman and His Orchestra. And for a dessert true to the period, serve Wacky Cake (see recipe). “My heroine Sarah’s downfall is her sweet tooth, so book clubs might serve this typical wartime cake— made without butter, milk or eggs, which were scarce,” she explains.
Enjoy the cake with a cocktail that Lecky’s heroine Sarah is also rather fond of: a gin and tonic. “To be even more authentic, [drink] a glass of Irish stout, or you can try my favorite cocktail: a French martini,” adds Lecky. “Cheers!”
