Secrets of the Lavender Girls (Thompson Kate); Hodder & Stoughton, 2020

Stratford, 1943.

World War Two is still raging across Europe. But for the Lavender Girls, the workers at the Yardley cosmetics factory in East London, there are even more challenges on the home front.

Esther, newly married, is learning to juggle life as a working woman with her duties as a wife and homemaker. And she must find a way to help her adopted family on the Shoot, who are battling their own hidden demons . . .

Headstrong Patsy, a new recruit at the Yardley factory, has a double life that takes her from the East End lipstick belt by day to the stage in the West End at night. But will she be able to keep her secrets hidden from her controlling mother, Queenie?

For bubbly Lou, a forbidden love forces her to choose between family loyalty and a chance at true happiness. Can she be brave enough to forge her own path in the chaos of a war?

One thing is certain: the Lavender Girls need one another more than ever if they are going to survive . . .