Description

Yvonne Millet was born into poverty in Paris during La Belle Époque in the shadow of Notre-Dame cathedral. Taken to a childminder in the countryside a few days after birth, she became a ward of the state at the age of three when her mother disappeared. A stable childhood in the beautiful Somme region of Northern France was shattered when, aged fifteen, she went to work as a maid in a military town during the First World War. Her devastating experiences would change her life and haunt her forever.

As a troubled young woman facing a precarious future, chance lead Yvonne to marry a former British soldier. Hopes of fulfilment with a husband and family were marred by profound insecurities and the Second World War.

A moving true account of one girl growing up in the early 20th century France, Yvonne, Child of the Somme is also the story of thousands of children like her, who shared a similar fate. Most were too ashamed of their background to ever reveal their heart-rending stories. Echoes of their pain reverberated down the generations, unexplained.

Hardback: 211 pages
Publisher: Austin McCauley Publishers, 2022
ISBN: 9781398481695
Product Dimensions: 23.3 x 14.7 x 1.5 cm