When The War Came Home

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In this deeply-researched and engaging work Yiğit Akın takes a close look at the Ottoman home front during the First World War. Divided into six chapters, the book examines the political effects of the Balkan Wars, mobilisation in 1914 and the lives of conscripts, the war’s impact on the economy, especially on agricultural life and production, military requisitioning, the role of women and altered family structures, and, in the final chapter, the destruction of Anatolia’s Armenian population and the influx of Ottoman refugees from territories occupied by Russian forces. The study is based on sources drawn from the Ottoman Prime Ministry’s Archives, laws and regulations adopted by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress, minutes of the deliberations in the Chamber of Deputies (meclis-i mebusan) and the senate (meclis-i ayan), and a broad array of the growing list of diaries and memoirs recounting personal experiences of the First World War. In addition, and in a way no other recent study has done, When the War Came Home draws on folk songs and poems revealing the everyday hardships and tragedies faced by ordinary Ottomans in wartime. Natty designates a drawer in the bureau of her new room for her cousin indicating that she and Nerys's relationship is not at an end. This relationship is one of the things Lesley Parr does particularly well. There's a line early on about adults always assuming that children the same age will get along, but in fact the girls have their ups and downs of annoyance, jealousy and friendship-building that's one of the most realistic-feeling parts of the book. After reading Lesley’s first novel The Valley of Lost Secrets this was a highly anticipated book for me and I desperately fought the urge to read the early chapters released on Netgalley – didn’t want to spoil it for myself! Honestly, both books feel like and deserve to be future classics. Highly immersive historical novels and incredibly heart-warming they also incorporate a touch of cleverly written mystery. As Natty tries to keep a secret and unravel a mystery, she finds her own way to fight for what she believes in - and learns that some things should never be forgotten ... This mesmerising historical mystery includes an interactive clue so readers can unravel the mystery alongside the characters. About This Edition ISBN: The novel is written in the first person from the point of view of twelve year old Natty. The reader gets inside her head as her thoughts become our thoughts.

There’s so much more I’m bursting to say but I wouldn’t want to risk spoiling others’ enjoyment of this glorious book. Thank you Lesley for another amazing story that I will cherish and will stay with me for years to come. I really enjoyed solving another anagram mystery too. Natty is absolutely raging and she is furious with her Mam she has to leave everything she knows behind and she is quite awful to her Mam. Although in these times I think I would have been the same. Lesley has written in two fabulous characters who are both technically suffering from what we would call now PTSD and it is written in such a way that it is easily understood for the audience it is intended and in a way it doesn’t frighten you off. This portrayal has been done so well and shows different aspects of it in the two characters.She’s so small, only her eyes show over the top. Uncle Dewi stands behind her, wiping grease off his hands with a cloth. Natty is such an incredible character. Feeling like a lost soul herself, she instantly recognises the look behind Johnny’s eyes and from the moment she hears his story, she is determined to help him remember. Fearless and direct yet sensitive and caring, she has the ability to gain Johnny’s trust and he begins to open up to her. With her help, odd flashes and fragment of memories seem to appear but will it be enough? Because that moment, when Huw and Johnny's stories overlapped - my heart was just -- You know that feeling when you're about to uncover something - and there's this tingle in your gut, so unexplainable a feeling that you're about to stumble upon some truth when solving a puzzle or figuring out a clue in a crime scene and you can't believe how it all ties together. 🙏🏻🙏🏻 The author laid the groundwork so naturally - with such subtlety and tenderness, that when the pieces fell together, I felt so anxious - my heartbeat was actually palpitating! That would this be the moment of truth - would the truth come out - would it all work out? Would these young boys who had to become much before their chance to heal from what they have endured? 😢😢 Atmospheric, direct and gripping, with a superbly assured narrative voice, this book is woven through with powerful themes: grief, belonging and making peace with the past. - Guardian Yiğit Akın has written a pioneering study, examining the long-neglected Ottoman home front during World War I. When the War Came Home illuminates the war's deep social and economic impact on the empire's civilian population."

The years following World War I were those of change in Britain. We hear about the suffragettes and also lawful strikes as ways to bring about change. Akın's When the War Came Home is an important historical revision that fully portrays the imperial home front for the first time. Moreover, this unique interdisciplinary work reconsiders existing temporal, geographical, and methodological approaches to the study of World War I in the Middle East."––Melanie S. Tanielian, Journal of Interdisciplinary History Set shortly after the First World War, this historical mystery is a compelling read. Natty is cross when Mam loses her job for speaking out against unfair working conditions, as without an income, they cannot pay their rent so are forced to move. They go to stay with Aunty Mary and Uncle Dewi, who run a small farm in the Welsh countryside, but Natty finds it challenging to share a room with her cousin Nerys, who has bags of enthusiasm and never stops talking. It is also a multi-layered story, as we see through the eyes of the soldiers in the convalescent home, the effect the First World War had on so many, when they returned home. We don’t often see this period of history explored in depth within this age range – more often it is World War Two – and it is explored really well with care and sensitivity. In addition to all the above, When the War Came Home, also gives us a very realistic insight into what life was like during the 1920s in Welsh villages in South Wales. There is much to discuss in terms of family life, school, the effect of poverty and general day-to-day living.When I reviewed Lesley Parr’s first book, The Valley of Lost Secrets, last year, I said that it was one of the best debut novels I had been privileged to read in a long time, and this new book is even better. The characters are so beautifully drawn; Natty loves her mother but is infuriated by the way her behaviour affects their lives. It is only when Natty becomes involved in her own battle, the fight for free meals at her new school, that she begins to realise how like her mother she really is. I also loved Nerys; a clever chatterbox , she is intensely loyal to her friend Owen and cannot bear the injustices he suffers at the hands of their truly awful teacher "Mad Dog Manford". Although Natty finds her irritating at first, she and Nerys become a real team, not only in the campaign for school meals, but also in solving the mystery of Johnny’s real identity.

When the War Came Home might be set after World War 1 - and highlight the PTSD and grief experienced by so many soldiers - but it also features a battle against something many young readers today will have more direct experience: poverty, hunger & social inequity. Parr masterfully weaves these two very different - and quite harrowing - types of struggles together in a way that's accessible to younger readers without trivializing either issue. Just as Lesley Parr's first book, 'The Valley of Lost Secrets', showed us Wales through the eyes of a WW2 evacuee, her second book is also a warm evocation of that country, with fascinating glimpses of the language and culture. Set in the early 1920's, this wonderful novel explores the after effects of World War 1 on both the surviving soldiers and the families they return to. Natty lives in the small Welsh village of Libanwy with her mother, Ffion, who is a vocal supporter of women’s rights. When her outspokenness causes her to lose her job at the local factory, she and Natty are forced to move to the neighbouring village of Ynsyfach to stay with relatives. When the War Came Home is a story so full of hope, determination, love, family and friendship. It utterly captivated me and had me reading into the wee small hours as I couldn’t bear to tear myself away from the idyllic Welsh countryside and the wonderfully warm, beautifully drawn cast of characters and their spirit and resilience.Bestselling author Alexandra Christo, author of TikTok sensation To Kill a Kingdom, introduces her new book, The Night Hunt (Hot Key Books), a dark...

Associate Professor of History & Nesuhi Ertegün Chair of Modern Turkish Studies, Georgetown UniversityNatty meets soldiers Johnny and Charles at the bowling pavilion where they are brought for daily recreation time from Talbot House; a convalescene home for injured servicemen. Young soldier Johnny is suffering from amnesia, brough on by the effects of the war and he can’t remember any details of his life before. His identity bracelet is damaged so The Ministry of Defence have been unable to trace his loved ones. Natty was so hurt by his pain that she was so eager and determined to make him feel better, to make him fell less of the ache that was from his haunting memories. For memories are something we cannot escape no matter how hard we try; but, for Johnny, another young soldier that Natty befriends, it's all he could ever hope again. 😟😟