The Heroes' Welcome - by Louisa Young (Paperback)

About the Book

"First published in slightly different form in Great Britain in 2014 by the Borough Press, an imprint of HarperCollins UK"--Title page verso.

Book Synopsis

April 1919. Six months have passed since the armistice that ended the Great War. But new battles face those who have survived.

Only 23, former soldier Riley Purefoy and his bride, Nadine Waveney, have their whole lives ahead of them. But Riley's injuries from the war have created awkward tensions between the couple, scars that threaten to shatter their marriage before it has truly begun.

Peter and Julia Locke are facing their own trauma. Peter has become a recluse, losing himself in drink to forget the horrors of the war. Desperate to reach her husband, Julia tries to soothe his bitterness, but their future together is uncertain.

Drawn together in the aftermath of the war, the couples become tightly intertwined. Haunted by loss, guilt, and dark memories, contending with uncertainty, anger, and pain, they are left with the question: is love strong enough to help them move forward?

The incandescent follow up to the international bestseller My Dear I Want to Tell You, The Heroes' Welcome is a powerful and intimate novel chronicling the turbulence of 1919--a year of perilous beginnings, disturbing realities, and glimmerings of hope.

From the Back Cover

April 1919. Six months have passed since the armistice that ended the Great War. But new battles face those who have survived.

Only twenty-three, former soldier Riley Purefoy and his bride, Nadine Waveney, have their whole lives ahead of them. But Riley's injuries from the war have created awkward tensions between the couple, damage that threatens to shatter their marriage before it has truly begun.

Peter and Julia Locke are facing their own trauma. Peter has become a recluse, losing himself in drink to forget the horrors of the war. Desperate to reach her husband, Julia tries to soothe his bitterness, but their future together is uncertain.

Drawn together in the aftermath of the war, the two couples' lives become more tightly intertwined, haunted by loss, guilt, and dark memories, contending with uncertainty, anger, and pain. Is love strong enough to help them all move forward?

The Heroes' Welcome is a powerful and intimate novel, chronicling the quiet turbulence of 1919--a year of perilous beginnings, disturbing realities, and glimmerings of hope.

Review Quotes

Praise for My Dear, I Wanted To Tell You: "Every once in a while comes a novel that generates its own success, simply by being loved. Louisa Young's My Dear I Wanted to Tell You inspires the kind of devotion among its readers not seen since David Nicholls's One Day." - The Times (London) on My Dear I Wanted to Tell You
"Young makes use of her abundant storytelling gifts in her first novel for adults.... A moving tale of men and women tested to their limits by World War I.... My Dear I Wanted to Tell You exhibits a determined faith in human beings' ability to heal-if not entirely, then at least sufficiently-from the wounds inflicted by war. And Young has chosen her title with care. This masterly storyteller fervently believes that the healing process begins with a decision to share your stories, no matter how terrible, with those you love." - Washington Post on My Dear I Wanted to Tell You
"My Dear I Wanted to Tell You is one of those books that doesn't leave you, and probably never will. So deep was the place it touched in my heart, that I wanted to keep the book itself close by; as if I could comfort each character and keep them tightly held. Many writers have set out to describe war's dark, lingering shadow, though few have truly succeeded. In this story of lives torn apart by the horror of the Great War, where even the soul struggles to rise amid the detritus of battle, Louisa Young proves herself to be one of those writers, and she has told this story very, very well." - Jacqueline Winspear, author of A Lesson in Secrets on My Dear I Wanted to Tell You
"This novel is a triumph." - Elizabeth Jane Howard, author of the Cazelet Chronicles
"At the heart of My Dear I Wanted to Tell You are an irresistible hero and heroine: the passionate, ambitious, strong-minded Riley and Nadine. How their lives are transformed-literally and figuratively-by World War I makes for a surprisingly suspenseful and tender novel. I was enraptured by these pages. " - Argo
"Powerful, sometimes shocking, boldly conceived, it fixes on war's lingering trauma to show how people adapt-or not-and is irradiated by anger and pity." - Sunday Times (London)
"Young affectingly charts the toll war continues to take long after the soldiers have left the battlefield." - Booklist
"A moving exploration of the war's toll on a generation...deeply affecting." - Metro
British Praise for The Heroes' Welcome: "If you read one novel about the effects of the First World War this year, make it this one. It has brain with its brawn and deserves a hero's welcome." - The Times (London)
"[A] tender, elegiac novel. Others have been here before, of course, from Sebastian Faulks to Pat Barker, but Young belongs in their company." - Mail on Sunday
"Fierce and tender, The Heroes' Welcome depicts heroism on the grand scale and the importance of the tiniest act of courage." - The Observer
"Young possesses in abundance emotional conviction, pace and imaginative energy, and these qualities will draw readers with her through time and space, as she unfolds the story of the Lockes and Purefoys on their journey through the 20th century." - The Guardian