Kate’s 2¢: “Keep The Home Fires Burning” by Simon Block

“Keep The Home Fires Burning” by Simon Block

Kate’s 2¢: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as,     describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read.  I’m just saying…

   When you open a book, you are allowing the author to draw you into the historical fiction of his tale.   You suspend your own ideas and embrace those of the author’s making. I think the author did a good job of bringing these strong women and their village of Great Paxford to life, demonstrating the microcosm of a small rural village’s complexities.

   I didn’t like the ending though. There seemed to be numerous loose threads, perhaps, there will be a sequel. 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Simon Block is a British screenwriter and producer best known for his work on the Julie Summers inspired ITV series Home Fires.[1]

Block wrote on several popular dramas, such as Lewis, New Tricks and Hotel Babylon, being a recurring writer with his writing credits appearing Series 3 Episode 1,[2] Series 2 Episode 8[3] and Series 2 Episode 2.[4] Block wrote the first episode of Series 1 of Home Fires alongside Julie Summers who inspired the show with her book. It is about the life of Women’s Institute members on the Home Front during the Second World War. The first series is set between September 1939 and early 1940. However following the first episode Block became the main writer, writing 10 episodes to date.[5]

He co-wrote the historical drama The Physician, based on the novel of the same name by Noah Gordon. The film stars Tom Payne, Ben Kingsley (as physician Avicenna), Stellan Skarsgård, Olivier Martinez and Emma Rigby. In 2015, Block wrote three episode for the historical TV drama A.D. The Bible Continues: “The Tomb Is Open”, “The Body Is Gone” and “The Spirit Arrives”. In 2020, he wrote the Second World War television film The Windermere Children.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Keep the home fires burning DB110013

Block, Simon. Reading time: 15 hours, 45 minutes.

Read by Terry Donnelly.

Historical Fiction

“In Britain’s darkest hour, an extraordinary community of women strives to protect the Home Front. When an enemy plane crashes in the village, every one of their lives will change forever… Return to Great Paxford or join us for your very first visit. Join Frances Barden, Sarah Collingborne, Pat Simms, Miriam Brindsley and the women of the Great Paxford Women’s Institute as calamity hits their beloved village and they prove once again that when women work together they can surmount almost any challenge. Frances struggles as her factory is shut down and her husband’s secret child arrives at her door. Pat received a respite when her abusive husband went to cover the war, but now he’s home. Newlyweds Teresa and Nick come under tremendous pressure due to the secret Teresa hides. Meanwhile, the life of the Campbell family is turned on its head as a serious illness runs its course, and Alison finds new purpose in helping the influx of strangers to the village.Through it all the Women’s Inst

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