The Child Left Behind (36 page)

This book is the last piece of the Sullivan jigsaw that locks into place all the books that went before it. In Buncrana, 1914, Finn Sullivan joined the Royal Inniskillens to fight in the Great War. He did it partly to bring some excitement into his mundane life, and partly because he was resentful working his butt off on a farm that would never be his. He also thought that if enough Irish men and boys volunteered then Ireland would be united once more, because that was what the British Government promised if Ireland was to help them in their fight against the Hun. Finn lost his life not quite two years later at the Battle of the Somme, July 1st 1916.

However, Finn didn’t entirely sink without trace, as everyone thought, because he left behind Gabrielle who was pregnant with his child, Bridgette. When the child was born, she had no idea that Finn was her father. Gabrielle was forced into marriage with Robert Legrand—a harsh and domineering
man—when Bridgette was just a baby. She thought he was her natural father, though she suffered at his hands and was mercilessly bullied by his son, George. Aged seventeen she was glad to escape their clutches to marry Xavier, a man she loved dearly. But tragically, just as the Great War had taken her father, the Second World War took her husband, and she suffered a miscarriage on hearing the news. On her mother’s deathbed a few years later, Bridgette learned of her true father and, as soon as she could, she set off to find the Sullivan family. She had many disappointments in her search—they had all moved to Birmingham and knew nothing of the daughter Finn might have had.

Because much of the backdrop to this book was set in France I travelled there in May 2008 on a research trip. I could see immediately why the only way to fight would have to be in the trenches, because the landscape was so flat. We stayed in St-Omer which really was where the BEF were stationed and all the facts about the period there are as accurate as I could get them. The people were lovely and very helpful, from the librarian who searched out old maps for us to photocopy, to the lady in the small café by the hotel who had pictures of St-Omer in the Great War around the wall. She allowed us to freely take photographs—giving me a feel of the time.

We toured the town across the market square
in front of Hotel de Ville (the Town Hall) where the Saturday market used to be, visited the
Jardin Public
and saw the bandstand where Finn would wait for his beloved Gabrielle. We went into the Notre Dame Cathedral, a beautiful golden palace with huge pillars and beautiful stained glass windows, lit up by the flickering lights of many candles. We also visited the tremendous Baroque organ and golden tomb of St Erkembode, which was covered in shoes.

We didn’t just stay in St-Omer, opting to travel further afield. We visited the Somme and saw some of the graveyards that abounded there and museums at Lille, Arras, Amiens, Abbeville and Albert. In Albert we saw a replica of Notre Dame Breberieres with the statue of mother and child, called The Golden Virgin locally, on top of the basilica. It was shelled on January 15th 1915 and the statue was knocked so that it was at right angles to the
basilica
but did not fall. The legend was that it wouldn’t fall until the war should be coming to an end. It finally fell during an Allied bombardment, as they attempted and succeeded in recapturing the town, in April 1918. In the same town, the tunnels that run underneath it have been transformed into a museum to document The Great War. It was here I found out what Brigade and Battalion Finn Sullivan was in, because all the men recruited in either Donegal or Fermanagh were in the same one, and this meant I could track his
training. The Ulstermen were in the forefront of the attack at the Somme and the casualty lists were so high that the survivors were sent back to St-Omer for a rest. The report by Captain William Spender is a genuine one, in fact one of many such reports that can be seen on the walls in this underground museum.

The report in the paper though is a conglomerate of many such reports, as the Battle of the Somme was the first time press and newsreels had been let into the battle field.
The Times, Observer, Mail
and
Mirror
were just four I know about, though there might have been others, and of course reporters supplied more than the papers they were assigned to with written accounts and pictures.

As I began writing about the Second World War it was interesting to see things from a French point of view. When the Germans were able to ignore the Maginot Line and get through the forest, thought to be impregnable and with the Allies retreating to the beaches, the French people must have known that they were staring invasion, defeat and occupation in the face. How frightening that must have been, for they knew what was in store for them—as Hitler’s armies had already rode rough shod through much of Europe.

I researched the work of the Resistance fairly well too from De Gaulle in the early days, their efforts to aggravate the enemy via the wireless from
London, to the resistance groups becoming more organised. They amalgamated for maximum effect and began to liaise and work with secret agents sent over from Britain. I also went to Eperlecque Forest where a huge concrete bunker called
Le Blockhaus
was built, and then nearer to St-Omer, La Coupole rising out of the ground like a gigantic mushroom. Both constructions were instrumental in the manufacture of the pilotless rockets V1 and V2 that sent another wave of terror across Britain.

Despite my visiting France though and the benefit of the internet I do like reference books as well and so, I also read,
The First World War
by Andrew Wren,
All Quiet on the Home Front
by Richard Van Emden and Steve Humphries,
The Soldiers War
by again Richard Van Emden,
First day at the Somme
by Martin Middlebrook and
Resistance in France
by Jean-Paul Pallud.

So with all this research why was this book not out in September like it should have been? Well, from October 2008 there was such a catalogue of disasters that my agent thought the book jinxed and I thought she wasn’t far wrong. I was walking my dog one dismal evening in early October when I tripped up a step and managed to break two bones in my left wrist and stretch the tendons in my right hand so violently they tore a piece of bone from the thumb. Plastered, strapped and splinted and without the use of either thumb,
washing, dressing and even squeezing the toothpaste was well nigh impossible without help. Typing was a non starter altogether. Almost seven weeks later I had everything removed and faced three weeks of physio. The deadline was extended to March and I was on track again. In February my brother in Birmingham had a massive heart attack. Obviously I had to go, to be with the family. A week later my lovely brother was dead and after the funeral I felt completely drained. It became apparent to all that a September publication deadline couldn’t be met and I can only say I’m sorry. I know you’ll all understand and I hope that you enjoyed
The Child Left Behind.

I have said before that the team behind me at HarperCollins is like a security blanket and this has been so well shown this year when I developed problems for they were so understanding and full of sympathy and consideration. So I would like to say a special and sincere thank you to Susan Opie who continues to edit my books so well and my agent Judith Murdoch who has also been so supportive. Thanks also to Yvonne and Victoria and hello to my new publicist Amy Neilson and my new brand manager (now there’s posh) Kate Bradley.

Thank you to all my friends for just being there and to Judith Kendall who helps me more than she knows. Thank God we all know what laughter is all about.

My family though are the most important people in my life, my eldest daughter, Nikki, her husband,
Steve and children, Briony and Kynan. Briony is eighteen this year! How scary is that? Thanks to my son, Simon, his wife Carol and their two boys Jake and Theo. And also to my second daughter Beth, my youngest Tamsin and her partner, Mark.

Love also to my sister in law Kathy, that this book is dedicated to, coping so bravely without the husband she loved. As usual, special thanks to my smashing husband Denis, who is one of the kindest people I know.

But a great and terrific thank you to all of you who read my books and often write and say something about them, which I appreciate so much. I owe you all an immense debt of gratitude.

A Little Learning

Love Me Tender

A Strong Hand to Hold

Pack Up Your Troubles

Walking Back to Happiness

Till the Sun Shines Through

Danny Boy

Daughter of Mine

Mother’s Only Child

To Have and to Hold

A Sister’s Promise

A Daughter’s Secret

A Mother’s Spirit