Letters from the Lighthouse

From the queen of historical fiction, Letters From the Lighthouse by Emma Carroll is a stunningly evocative wartime drama, and sure to keep you breathlessly reading to its very last page.

We weren’t supposed to be going to the pictures that night. We weren’t even meant to be outside, not in a blackout, and definitely not when German bombs had been falling on London all month like pennies from a jar.

February, 1941. After months of bombing raids in London, twelve-year-old Olive Bradshaw and her little brother Cliff are evacuated to the Devon coast. The only person with two spare beds is Mr Ephraim, the local lighthouse keeper. But he’s not used to company and he certainly doesn’t want any evacuees.

Desperate to be helpful, Olive becomes his post-girl, carrying secret messages (as she likes to think of the letters) to the villagers. But Olive has a secret of her own. Her older sister Sukie went missing in an air raid, and she’s desperate to discover what happened to her. And then she finds a strange coded note which seems to link Sukie to Devon, and to something dark and impossibly dangerous.

‘A gripping adventure.’ Guardian

‘A triumph.’ The Bookseller

‘Carroll sews together accessible history with a cracking plot and a character to love in the strong, principled Olive.’ The Times, Children’s Book of the Week

What readers are saying:

‘I recommend that you buy this book now!!’ Hugo, age 11

‘Buy this book because it has lots of action, mystery and tragedy.’ Joshua, age 10

‘An amazing book.’ Skye, age 9

‘This is the book for you. It has secret, mystery and suspense, how could you not like this?’ Roman, age 11

‘It will be the most incredible book you’ve ever read.’ Ananya, age 9