The Words I Never Wrote by Jane Thynne

Happy Sunday!  Are you running out of things to do at home?  I thought I would share some resources with you.  Check out this site for games that you can play with just paper and pens.  There are games you can do with common items from around your home.  Click here for more information.  Do you have active kids at home?  Click here for activities to keep the kids busy indoors.  If you are looking for educational games, check out this resource. Ancestry has some resources available as well.  K-12 at home history lesson plans are available.  Ancestry, in conjunction with the National Archives and Records Administrations, is also allowing access to millions of records.  This is the time to do a genealogy project (find out if you have any interesting characters in your family tree).  Here is a list of museums offering virtual tours.  I hope that you find these resources helpful. 

The Words I Never Wrote by Jane Thynne opens in New York City in 2016.  Juno Lambert is a photographer in New York City and is looking for a typewriter to use for a photoshoot.  She visits New York Typewriter Company and is drawn to a 1931 Underwood Portable.  It belonged to the renowned journalist, Cordelia Capel who left an envelope inside containing an unfinished manuscript.  Juno reads the story that jumps back in time to 1936 when Cordelia’s sister, Irene married German lawyer, Ernst Weismuller whose family also owned a steel works.  Cordelia moves to Paris and begins working at The Courier as a secretary.  She knows she wants to write, but Cordelia is unsure about what type of writing.  Irene finds herself attending party after party with her husband.  At first, she does not notice anything amiss, but then she begins to see what Hitler is doing to the country to make Germany great.  Cordelia wants details on what is happening in Germany, but Irene cannot provide the truth in letters to her sister because the mail is monitored.  The sisters become estranged.  Juno wants to learn what happened to Cordelia and Irene after the war ended.  She sets off on a journey to uncover what happened to the sisters.  

The Words I Never Wrote by Jane Thynne is a sweeping historical novel.  I found this book to be well-written with developed characters.  The story takes us from 1936 through 2016 moving from England, New York, Paris and Berlin.  Juno Lambert purchases a 1931 Underwood Portable typewriter for a photoshoot.  It once belonged to the famed journalist Cordelia Capel and there is a partial manuscript inside the case.  After reading the document, Juno wants to uncover the rest of the story.  Cordelia’s sister, Irene married a German lawyer and moved to Berlin.  Her husband is a Nazi sympathizer and they moved in exalted circles.  There are endless parties and social functions for Irene to attend.  At first, she believes everything is normal in Berlin.  Slowly Irene begins to see what is really happening in Berlin, but she needs to be careful.  Irene is watched because she is English and her letters to Cordelia are monitored.  Cordelia becomes a journalist.  Something happens between the two sisters that has them become estranged.  The author captured the time period with her descriptions of the clothing, the atmosphere in Paris and Berlin, the attitudes of the people, the political climate and so much more.  Real historical figures are included like Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, Martha Dodd, and Kim Philby.   I did feel that some descriptions were too detailed and there were a few scenes that were drawn out which slowed down the pacing.  The middle is a little sluggish, but then I reached the climax which had me quickly turning the pages to see how the story would turn out.  It was interesting to learn what it was like in Germany leading up to World War II.    I liked that each sister had a distinctive voice and point-of-view (as did Juno).  I am glad that I decided to read this book and regret not fitting it into my schedule sooner.  My favorite phrase is “. . . words could change the world.”  The Words I Never Wrote is a complex and moving novel with a unique Underwood typewriter, a celebrated correspondent, a socialist socialite, lighthearted letters, an incomplete manuscript and a wicked war.

The Words I Never Wrote is available from Amazon*.  You can find other novels by Jane Thynne here.  Thank you for joining me today.  Tomorrow I am sharing Dead on the Vine by Elle Brooke White.  It is the debut of A Finn Family Farm Mystery series.  I hope that you have an industrious day.  Take care, stay safe and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader

*This post contains affiliate links.