Scarlet Sisters

<i>Oh my goodness--another girl Mrs Swain! Clara's normal iron composure broke and she screamed No! That's not the bloody deal! </i> <p/>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 redheads 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.