Secret Sparrow

Jackie French

$17.99

Paperback

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English

HARPER360
01 December 2023

ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- Jean McLain works in the local post office and wins a competition as the fastest Morse code operator, which brings her to the attention of the British Army. It's 1917 and war has been going on for so long that male operators are scarce and women are being used as signallers, so Jean embarks on what she thinks will be an adventure... It's 1978 in Burrangong, and Arjun is caught in a flash flood, only to be rescued by an old woman on a motorbike. During the long night as they wait to be rescued, Jean tells him the story of her war, of the extraordinary events she found herself swept up in - and changed forever by. An extraordinary story based on true events and people (including the deliberate destruction of military records, so women who served in WWI weren't acknowledged) from one of our best writers of historical fiction for younger readers. Lindy

This is the story of women who fought during WWI, but not as nurses or ambulance drivers.

In 1917 sixteen-year-old Jean McLain is working as a post-office assistant in England. But when she wins a national Morse code competition, the British army makes a request Jean cannot refuse – to take a secret position as a signaller in France.

If Jean can keep the signals flowing between headquarters and the soldiers at the Front, Britain might possibly win the war.

But the British army are determined to hide its desperation – and will go on to burn every document that showed how women and girls were working behind the scenes, in the trenches and even in battles during World War I.

Decades later, an old woman tells the story of 'the telegraph girl': the friends she lost, the man who loved her, and the happiness she so surprisingly found again.

Based on true events, this story of adventure, courage and unshakable loyalty restores women and girls to their place in history that the authorities tried to erase.

By: Jackie French
Imprint: HARPER360
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 199mm, Width: 130mm, Spine: 19mm
Weight: 197g
ISBN: 9781460760468
ISBN 10: 1460760468
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 01 December 2023
Recommended Age: From 12 years
Audience: Children/juvenile , English as a second language
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Jackie French AM is an award-winning writer, wombat negotiator, the 2014–2015 Australian Children's Laureate and the 2015 Senior Australian of the Year. In 2016 Jackie became a Member of the Order of Australia for her contribution to children's literature and her advocacy for youth literacy. She is regarded as one of Australia's most popular children's authors and writes across all genres — from picture books, history, fantasy, ecology and sci-fi to her much loved historical fiction for a variety of age groups. ‘A book can change a child's life. A book can change the world' was the primary philosophy behind Jackie's two-year term as Laureate. jackiefrench.com facebook.com/authorjackiefrench