Beautifully written and emotionally charged, After You've
Gone is a fascinating account of one woman's struggle to find
happiness and independence in 1920s society.
When Willa met Tommy Costello, a handsome, smooth-tongued sailor,
she thought he had finally found what she was looking for. With no
family of her own, Willa longed for unity, love and adventure. Tommy
appeared to offer her all of that. But life is never simpleÂ
Now a wife and mother, Willa is left behind with her controlling
mother-in-law when Tommy begins a year-long round-the-world tour
with the Navy. Her only escape is through reading books. And it is
at the local library that she meets Richard Fitzwilliam, whose
friendship gradually begins to change Willa's life. Despite her
initial reluctance, she finds herself beginning to enjoy Â- even
prefer Â- the new life being offered to her. But how long can it
last, as Tommy's steady progress around the world will eventually
bring him back home?
'Her books are well crafted, the story deftly told, the characters
thoroughly imagined... It is warm, but clear-sighted, comic but also
respectful of its characters' Allan Massie, The Scotsman
