The Young Wives

Book excerpt: A wonderfully compelling saga of the lives, hopes and dreams of four young wives. Sheila Brophy's hopes and dreams are those of any young Dublin girl. She longs to fall in love. Fergus is older than her, in the British Army and fond of his drink, but he loves her and Sheila doesn't hesitate when he proposes although their marriage will mean leaving Dublin. In November 1961 Sheila finds herself and her twin baby girls with three other young women on their way to join their husbands stationed in Germany. The young women are plunged into a very different life from the ones they have left. They become friends, sharing their worries, secrets, disappointments and troubles. Elaine Crowley creates a community bound together by the special intimacy that comes when a group of people is thrown together and living far away from their homes and families.