The Care and Management of Lies

A Heartbreaking story of World War I in England

Jacqueline Winspear, author of the popular historical mystery series Maisie Dobbs, wrote this stand-alone novel for the 100th anniversary of World War One. The story revolves around childhood friends Kezia Marchant and Thea Brissenden, whose friendship has become strained with Kezia's impending marriage to Thea's brother and Thea's involvement in the women's suffrage and pacifism movements. As the war builds, each friend must find a way to cope with the ensuing turmoil. The setting switches between a farm in Kent, the city of London, and the battlefields of Belgium, giving the reader a clear picture of the effects of the war in each place. I found this book both informative and deeply affecting.