The Tilbury Poppies

Essex, 1916

Lily is a housemaid up at St Clere's Hall. But times are changing with the outbreak of war. With a husband bent on signing up for the trenches and a lecherous master of the house, Lily is forced to leave.

Doing her bit for the war effort - and bringing in more money for the family - Lily goes to work in a factory making explosives to send to the trenches. It's a hard job. The munitionettes must face terrible working conditions, the constant danger of accidents and air strikes and a patronising, self-serving boss. And then someone she never wanted to see there arrives. Lady Charlotte, the pampered daughter of the Hall, joins the factory as a supervisor...

Lily and Charlotte have choices they never had before - but in the shadow of the Great War, can the factory girls work together for a better future?

“atmospheric page-turner”

Packed with drama, dark humour and shocking truths about life for working class women nearly 60 years ago, When My Ship Comes In is a compelling first novel, a gritty page-turner - Lancashire Evening Post

Sue Wilsher grew up in South Essex near a shoe factory and the Thames estuary. The shoe company housed its workers, including Sue's grandparents and mother. Sue based her debut novel, When My Ship Comes In, on the history of the area. She now lives in Kent with her husband and two children.

Essex, 1916 Lily is a housemaid up at St Clere's Hall. But times are changing with the outbreak of war. With a husband bent on signing up for the trenches and a lecherous master of the house, Lily is forced to leave.Doing her bit for the war effort - and bringing in more money for the family - Lily goes to work in a factory making explosives to send to the trenches. It's a hard job. The munitionettes must face terrible working conditions, the constant danger of accidents and air strikes and a patronising, self-serving boss. And then someone she never wanted to see there arrives. Lady Charlotte, the pampered daughter of the Hall, joins the factory as a supervisor... Lily and Charlotte have choices they never had before - but in the shadow of the Great War, can the factory girls work together for a better future?

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