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| About the Book |
The Lotus House
A gripping, emotional drama of love and courage set in the Philippines during WW2.
1960: Nancy Drayton, an American nurse living on Lake Sebu, is visited by a stranger who hands her some faded letters, given to her by a dying man. Reading them transports Nancy back to the terror of the war years.
1941: When Nancy’s world is blown apart by the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, she volunteers to travel to the Philippines to serve at the front. She soon finds herself working in a field hospital on the Bataan Peninsula in the thick of the fighting, experiencing the horrors of war first hand.
When tending to some wounded men, she meets Captain Robert Lambert, and they become close. But the Japanese are closing in on Bataan, and when the US surrenders, they are driven apart.
As Robert struggles to survive the horrors of the Bataan Death March and the brutality of captivity in a prison camp, Nancy too finds herself a captive, fighting for her life. Will they survive to find one another again or will the forces of war keep them apart?
If you enjoy compelling historical fiction, you’ll love this sweeping story of love and war. Perfect for fans of Kristen Hannah, Dinah Jeffries and Victoria Hislop.
What everyone is saying about Ann Bennett:
‘What an amazing read!!! I didn't expect this to be a roller coaster of emotions, suspense, and mystery but it was everything!!… The characters were amazing, the story will keep you wanting more and more until the end.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘So captivating, I was on edge while flipping through the pages as fast as I could… Truly heartwarming… Emotional, heartbreaking … I loved this… A must read… Amazing.’ Page Turners, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Purchase Link -
Author Bio –
Ann Bennett is a British author of historical fiction. Her first book, Bamboo Heart: A Daughter's Quest, was inspired by researching her father's experience as a prisoner of war on the Thai-Burma Railway and by her own travels in South-East Asia. Since then, that initial inspiration has led her to write more books about the second world war in SE Asia. Bamboo Island: The Planter's Wife, A Daughter's Promise, Bamboo Road: The Homecoming, The Tea Planter's Club, The Amulet and her latest release The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu are also about WWII in South East Asia. All seven make up the Echoes of Empire Collection.
Ann is also the author of The Lake Pavilion, The Lake Palace, both set in British India during the 1930s and WWII, and The Lake Pagoda and The Lake Villa, both set in French Indochina. The Runaway Sisters, bestselling The Orphan House, The Child Without a Home and The Forgotten Children are set in Europe during the same era and are published by Bookouture.
Ann is married with three grown up sons and a granddaughter and lives in Surrey, UK. For more details please visit www.annbennettauthor.com
Social Media Links –
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| Read An Excerpt |
Extract from Chapter 10 of The Lotus House.
American nurses evacuated from Manila to escape the Japanese invasion have just arrived at a field hospital on the Bataan Peninsula …
As they stood there in the clearing beside the rough bamboo huts, wondering what they’d let themselves in for, an older woman dressed in khaki slacks and shirt appeared from behind one of the buildings.
‘Good evening, ladies. I’m First Lieutenant Hogan, Senior nurse. I’m in charge here. I and my group arrived yesterday. I’m sure you’re all wondering what this place is.’
The girls murmured their agreement.
‘Well, not to worry. When all the equipment has arrived and been installed, this will be a fully functioning military hospital, I assure you.’ She let this news sink in, looking around at their faces with a fixed smile, then said, ‘I expect you’re all hot and sweaty after your trip. Why don’t we all go down to the beach to cool off? There’s a full moon tonight and I’m sure it will do you the world of good to paddle in the water after a day on the road.’
Nancy brightened. She liked this nurse’s attitude. She wondered briefly what Major Davidson might say to such a suggestion and she smiled to herself. They all trooped behind Lieutenant Hogan along a narrow path between some huge rocks and down a small sand dune onto a beach of smooth, white sand. Slipping off their shoes, they waded into the water, some holding hands to steady themselves. The feel of the lapping waves took Nancy’s breath away at first, but she quickly got used to it, and the cool water soon began to soothe her aching feet and calves.
Betty, who was standing next to Nancy shouted, ‘Who wants to swim?’
Nancy was astonished to see Betty rush back to the beach, pull off her coveralls and run back into the water, wearing nothing but her underwear. Nancy watched Betty enviously while she plunged into the breakers. How wonderful to be able to immerse yourself completely in the cool water after all the horrors and discomforts of the journey. She glanced at Lieutenant Hogan who was standing at the edge of the water, arms folded, smiling in admiration at the sight of Betty swimming vigorously in a pool of light cast by the moon.
‘What the heck! Whyever not?’ Nancy said, suddenly seized with the impulse to swim too. She pulled off her clothes, left them in a pile on the sand and ran into the water to join her new friend. The cool of the saltwater against her hot skin was a balm to the soul and she turned on her back to float and stared up at the inky sky dotted with twinkling stars. It felt like paradise, and the horrors she’d encountered on the journey seemed to melt away.
Most of the other nurses soon joined them and they spent a joyous half hour cooling off under the stars. When they began to get chilled, they went back to the beach, shook themselves dry and pulled their uniforms back on.
‘Come on, girls. I’ll show you to your sleeping quarters. Tomorrow the work starts in earnest,’ Lieutenant Hogan said.
When they got back to the camp, Lieutenant Hogan picked up a hurricane lamp from the security guard’s hut at the entrance to the camp and guided the nurses between the bamboo buildings to their sleeping quarters. They’d been billeted in one of the long, thatched attap huts in which cots had been set out at regular intervals down either side. Each cot was draped in a mosquito net suspended from the ceiling. Their suitcases had already been set out at the end of the cots by one of the staff, so there was no choice of sleeping companions. Nancy found that her suitcase had been put on a cot between two girls called Pat and Dorothy. She didn’t know them very well, but they seemed kind, and she was happy to be billeted between them.
‘There’s a cotton sheet on each bed. You won’t need more. It’s very hot at night here,’ Lieutenant Hogan explained. ‘A word of warning though. Mosquitoes and malaria are rife on the peninsula. Don’t get bitten or you’ll be just another casualty requiring medical attention. I’ll issue preventative medication – quinine that is – to you all before bedtime. Now, come along and I’ll show you the latrines.’
Nancy joined the line of nurses following Lieutenant Hogan outside. She walked them to an area at the side of the camp behind a bamboo screen where there was a long, deep trench over which was positioned a wide, raised plank with round holes cut in it. A foul smell already rose from it. Nancy put her hand over her mouth and saw the others were doing the same.
‘Sorry, girls,’ Lieutenant Hogan said. ‘A bit basic, I know, but this is a field hospital after all.’
The girls looked at the latrine, stunned, but none of them voiced any objection. This was war and their creature comforts mattered very little in the face of that.
That night, Nancy slipped into bed under the mosquito net and once the hurricane lamp hanging from the ceiling at the end of the hut had been put out, lay there in the pitch darkness listening to the unfamiliar sounds all around her. She was exhausted, but sleep wouldn’t come. She’d never slept in a dormitory before, and the sound of so many others breathing, sighing, coughing and gently snoring kept her awake. As well as that, there were the unsettling night-time sounds of the jungle, only a few yards away across the road, eerie whooping and chattering noises, as well as the constant rush of the waves on the sand.
But there was something else that she could hear, something in the far distance that was far more frightening. Nancy propped herself on her elbow and strained her ears. There it was again. The unmistakeable boom of gunfire and the crash of explosions. A battle was raging at the head of the peninsula, less than twenty miles away.
(note: Helen has not yet read this title)
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