War, friendship at center of ‘Postmistress’

Being alone during wartime is something that many women are experiencing today, but back during World War II, it was a harder struggle and heartache for the women who were left behind, and for the women who were in the thick of the war as well.

In her new novel, “The Postmistress,” author Sarah Blake takes a look at the lives of three women, individuals brought together by a war far away from home.

Iris James is the new postmistress in the small Cape Cod town of Franklin, Mass. Firmly committed to her job of delivering the town’s news and letters, Iris is an orderly kind of lady, never swaying from her duties. But she longs for love and finds a glimmer of passion in the form of Henry Vale. Henry is also a committed citizen, keeping a vigilant watch along the coastline for possible invading German U-boats, much to the amusement of the townsfolk. And he is in love with Iris, determined to prove to her that there is hope for a relationship in their older years. When Iris is faced with a dilemma over the delivery of difficult news and wavers for the first time in her career, Henry is there to help her make the agonizing decision of whether to withhold the information until the right time.

Emma Fitch is a newlywed, having just married Will, the town’s only doctor. Growing up an orphan, Emma is amazed at finding true love with her beloved Will and sets out to create the family life that she missed as a child. Will adores his tiny bride and wants to give her everything she desires, but his own childhood in Franklin was marred by his father’s demise into the bottle. When tragedy strikes during a childbirth, Will feels he has to make it up to the town and to himself for his costly mistake. After hearing a particularly heart-rending radio account by Frankie Bard concerning the war in Europe, Will sets off to London to offer his services during the Blitz as atonement for himself and his father.

Frankie Bard is a war correspondent working closely with Edward R. Murrow during his broadcasts from war-torn London. As a woman in a traditional man's job, Frankie sets out to prove herself worthy of her profession, supplying bits of information to her listeners as she ducks and dives into the bombed out ruins and shelters of London. She meets Will during a night bombing run, and as they become acquainted and share their experiences, Will challenges Frankie to seek out the real reason behind the war. When he is killed in a tragic car accident right in front of her eyes, Frankie holds Will as he dies. She finds a letter addressed to Will's wife, Emma, back in the States, and resolves to make sure it reaches his widow. But first Frankie has to crawl into the belly of the beast by traveling to the heart of Germany at a time when the masses are fleeing.

As the war in Europe rages and the United States comes closer to entering the fray, the slow-arriving letters from Will begin to trickle to nothing, causing Emma to fret about her husband’s welfare as well as her own health since she is pregnant with their first child. Iris, charged by Will to keep an eye on Emma, becomes increasingly concerned about the young girl’s mental and physical state. And when Frankie, on a self-imposed break from the war, comes to Franklin with a message for Emma, all three women are eventually pulled together with their secrets and concerns.

Blake's “The Postmistress" is a fascinating look at the lives of women during World War II. While the men were off fighting, it was the women who carried on back home — worrying, wondering, and hoping for their loved one’s safe return. Blake captures the era with the crackle of the radio news, the suspicion aimed at foreigners in the country, and the acute longing for things to be back as they were in times of peace. Her obvious research into the lives of female correspondents during this era is evident, as is her emotional and poignant depiction of attitudes and moods of the United States and Europe during the war.

But above all, this is a story of women’s resilience and the amazing power of friendship. Blake’s characters evoke sympathy and admiration for both their courage and their tenderness. “The Postmistress” is a powerful novel that deserves the reader’s attention.