�Oh my goodness � another girl Mrs Swain!� Clara�s normal iron composure broke and she screamed, �No! That�s not the bloody deal!� And that is how my nanna, Bertha Swain, entered the world. When Helen Batten�s marriage breaks down, she starts on a journey of discovery into her family�s past and the mysteries surrounding her enigmatic nanna�s early life. What she unearths is a tale of five feisty red heads struggling to climb out of poverty and find love through two world wars. It�s a story full of surprises and scandal � a death in a workhouse, a son kept in a box, a shameful war record, a clandestine marriage and children taken far too soon. It�s as if there is a family curse. But Helen also finds love, resilience and hope � crazy wagers, late night Charlestons and stolen kisses. As she unravels the story of Nanna and her scarlet sisters, Helen starts to break the spell of the past, and sees a way she might herself find love again.
(less)�Oh my goodness � another girl Mrs Swain!� Clara�s normal iron composure broke and she screamed, �No! That�s not the bloody deal!� And that is how my nanna, Bertha Swain, entered the world. When Helen Batten�s marriage breaks down,
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The Scarlet Sisters: My nanna�s story of secrets and heartache on the banks of the River Thames | 
