Review: The Bletchley Women

Title: The Bletchley Women

Author: Patricia Adrian

Publisher: 10th March 2022 by HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter

Pages: 360 pages

How I Read It: ARC book

Genre: women’s fiction, historical fiction

My Rating: 3.5 cups

Synopsis:

From debutante to farmer’s daughter all roads lead to Bletchley…

In a different world, Evie Milton would have accepted her fate, married an aristocrat, and become the doyenne of one of England’s finest estates, just like her mother.

In a different world, Rose Wiley would have married her fiancé, David, established a modest homestead, and brought up a brood of babies, just like her mother.

But this isn’t a different world and these women are not their mothers. Rose dreams of a life filled with more than family and duty to her husband – a life of purpose – and Evie dreams of a life far away from her rarefied existence. Now, as they perform vital work at Bletchley Park decoding intercepted Luftwaffe messages, their role in turning the tide of war in the Allies favour shows Evie and Rose they don’t have to settle for the life once laid out before them.

My Thoughts

There have been a number of novels of late centring around Bletchley Park, especially the efforts and contributions of women during WWII.  The Bletchley Women is another to add to this list of interesting tales of what women achieved during this bleak and challenging period in history. 

‘… you’re just the sort of girl we’re looking for. Clever, educated, someone who can keep a secret.’

The story mostly centres around lead characters Evie and Rose who come from opposing ends of the social spectrum. Both speaking German, they are recruited to decode Luftwaffe messages and there is interesting historical detail provided regarding this aspect. This is also about women breaking the barriers of both gender and class in their efforts to forge a life for themselves as they were not satisfied with the cemented social expectations of so many years. 

‘That was the problem itself: I knew this wasn’t the life I wanted, but I didn’t know what to wish for instead. I was never taught what else was out there.’

The story is well written and moves at a steady (sometimes a little slow) pace and overall is a good addition to the WWII historical fiction category. With it being so similar to other novels of this specific place (ie. The Rose Code) I did find that, whilst good, it did lack the captivating intrigue of others I have read.

If WWII fiction is your thing, particularly the role women played at this time, then I recommend you add The Bletchley Women to your reading list. 

‘Bletchley Park, as everything else, is a man’s world,’ says Evie. ‘If girls don’t stick together, who is there to stick up for us?’

This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.