July 1940 – as Tarn struggles to come to terms with the loss of her beloved brother in the chaos of the British retreat at Dunkirk, she and her friends scour the hills around their Lake District home, watching for any signs of the long-dreaded Nazi invasion.
But as the war drags on, with little good news from the front, the locals become aware of someone carrying out anonymous acts of kindness, such as saving a flock of sheep from a snowdrift and getting help for an injured farmer who might other wise have died.
With no one claiming credit, they come to think of this unidentified stranger as a kind of guardian angel, but when his identity is finally revealed can Tarn come to terms with the truth…?
I’m thrilled to welcome author Tom Palmer to Scope for Imagination with a fascinating interview about Angel of Grasmere:
What draws you to the Cumbrian landscape, the people and their stories?
It’s just so lovely in Cumbria, isn’t it? Lovely and spectacular and sometimes frightening. I went camping with my mum and dad in Cumbria until I was 21. Then with my wife and daughter. I love it there. While in the area, over the years, I’ve met lots of people and some have become friends. They’ve suggested books I should read and they’ve told me stories about the area, leading directly to me writing Armistice Runner, After the War and, now, Angel of Grasmere.
Why did you choose to write about the impact of the retreat from Dunkirk?
We hear a lot about what a miracle Dunkirk was, what a glorious moment in British history. And it was. In some ways. But it was also a retreat and a defeat. Interested in that conflict of interpretations, I started listening to the testimony of the men who came back and they sometimes contradicted the received idea of what Dunkirk was. Some were ashamed. Some were broken by it. Destroyed. I wanted to write about that. Because the psychology of the soldier is something we need to understand.
Angel of Grasmere is told through a compelling dual point of view. Who were your inspirations for Tarn and the man in the hills?
The man in the hills was drawn from testimony of men who have deserted the army. I read a lot and listened to a lot. How they couldn’t bring themselves to go back to fight. But how they couldn’t go home either, afraid of the shame they felt their families would feel. They were men in between.
Tarn – who at the beginning of the book – is told that her brother has been killed at Dunkirk – was inspired by a girl I heard interviewed on a podcast quite recently. Her brother had been killed defending Ukraine.
Tarn is such a beautiful name for your main character as well as a Cumbrian word for a small mountain lake. Is there a connection?
Thank you. I agree. It wasn’t my idea. I was searching for a name and I nearly called her Dora, so that she’d be named by her brother after Dorothy Wordsworth. But I was distracted by the whole Dora the Explorer thing. Then I read in a WW2 history of Cumbria about a family from near Keswick who had called their daughter Tarn and the name jumped off the page.
Angel of Grasmere is a story of big emotions – anger, fear and loss as well as hope and courage. What do you hope readers will learn from the children in this story?
That it is better to be kind and to give and to love, if you can. Be it during a world war or in a queue in a shop or at home. I am not saying I always get it right myself. I don’t. But I want to.
Can you tell us a little about your collaboration with Grasmere School?
That is a great word for it. Collaboration. Though I am seriously in their debt. They helped me from day one. I met them to talk about the ideas behind the book. They helped me plan it. Then they edited my drafts. In two rounds. And now they are helping me to promote it. It’s been such a joy. We are going to launch it together too. By reopening the refreshment hut that features in the story.
How has the author, poet & diarist Dorothy Wordsworth inspired your writing?
She was kind. She loved those she loved so deeply that it felt like she lived for them. She cared about other people, too. Strangers. She had astonishing empathy. And she had a great eye and way of describing nature. She went for walks in the Lake District. All of that. I couldn’t say how she has inspired my writing, though she will have in countless ways, but I can say she’s shown me a better way to live.
Can you give us any hints about what you’ll be writing next?
It’s about bog bodies, the devastation of moorland, flooding and human sacrifice. It’s going to be a bit darker than my other history books. Maybe for older readers.
Angel of Grasmere is published by Barrington Stoke and is available now.
My Review:
Angel of Grasmere is a beautiful dual point of view story about the reality of the Dunkirk retreat during the second world war – the impact on the soldiers who survived and the families who lost those they love. It is another must-read from historical master, Tom Palmer and the ever-accessible publisher, Barrington Stoke. This story, along with After the War, Arctic Star and Resist, will become central to this generation’s understanding of the battles of previous generations.
In the poem In Flanders Fields, war poet John McCrae wrote,
“To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.”
Tom Palmer is helping those brave soldiers pass on their torch so we will never forget.
Set in the Lake District, there is so much power in the landscape: the peace of the fells, the freshness of the tarns and the life that must carry on in the valley. Yet this peace is shrouded in fear – fear that the enemy will attack from the north, fear that nearby towns will be bombed, fear that word will come that another soldier has died.
Tarn is angry. She’s angry that her brother has gone missing and is reported to be dead. She’s angry that she isn’t permitted to attend the memorial service. She’s angry that they’ll never have the chance to roam the fells together again. Tarn and her friends, Peter (a Cumbrian farm boy) and Eric (an evacuee from Manchester), escape to the hills. Supporting each other with their own kinds of strength, they go searching for adventure, happiness and hope.
But they aren’t alone in the fells. A solitary figure watches them from afar. Overcome with guilt for leaving Dunkirk to burn, this ex-soldier feels completely useless. He is nothing. Rather than the heroes so many people think them to be, he knows the truth. Dunkirk was a defeat and so many soldiers live with the agonising PTSD of survival. Fear of bombings and terrifying flashbacks prevent this man from even daring to show his face in the village. Is there anything he can do to contribute and help others – to feel worth something again?
As readers follow the story of Tarn and the man in the hills, truths about the war will hit them right in the heart. Emotional and honest, Tom Palmer has shown how hard it can be to heal but that with the support of friends and community, it is possible. This can be a difficult topic for children to comprehend but the level of detail is perfect. Gentle yet hard-hitting, readers will see how important it is to learn to be brave and how strong they are deep within. The power of friendship shines through as well as how important it is to be kind.
Angel of Grasmere is grounded in Dunkirk. The illustration that runs across the bottom of every page reminds readers of this throughout the story – just as the memory will never leave the man in the hills, the impact of the battle and retreat will stay with the village forever.
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