The Scarlet Sisters

<p><i>&#145;Oh my goodness &#150; another girl Mrs Swain!&#146;<br> Clara&#146;s normal iron composure broke and she screamed &#145;No! That&#146;s not the bloody deal!&#146;<br></i><i>And that is how my nanna Bertha Swain entered the world.</i><br><br>When Helen Batten&#146;s marriage breaks down she starts on a journey of discovery into her family&#146;s past and the mysteries surrounding her enigmatic nanna&#146;s early life.<br><br> What she unearths is a tale of five feisty red heads struggling to climb out of poverty and find love through two world wars. It&#146;s a story full of surprises and scandal &#150; 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&#146;s as if there is a family curse.<br><br> But Helen also finds love resilience and hope &#150; 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.</p>