A Guide to The WW1 Trilogy

My historical fiction WW1 trilogy is comprised of Angel of Mercy (released in 2019), Those Left Behind (released in 2020) and Adjustment Year (released in April 2021).    Here’s your guide to the trilogy.  Some spoilers ahead!

Each One is a Stand Alone Story

Each novel in the trilogy is its own standalone story.  They are connected together via the characters and the setting.  All three novels take place between 1914 and 1919.

This means you can read them out of order, and they will still make sense.  However, events in Angel of Mercy are referenced in both Those Left Behind and Adjustment Year, and events in Those Left Behind are referenced in Adjustment Year.  Reading all three gives you the full picture of what happened.

The Battle Front Story

Angel of Mercy is the battle front story.  The majority of the story takes place in Europe with medical units.  The main character of the story is Hettie, a young nurse who returns to work after her husband persuades her to follow him overseas.  Hettie was forced to quit working after she married but longed to return to work.  Little does she know what she’s getting herself into.

Other characters include Hettie’s fellow nurses Bessie and Charlotte, her brother Freddie and her sister Mabel.

Hettie is in communication with her relatives back home via letters throughout the novel.

The Home Front Story

Those Left Behind is the home front story and takes place during the same spring 1914-May 1919 time frame as Angel of Mercy.  It takes place entirely in Canada and revolves around the family Hettie and Freddie left behind when they enlisted for war service.

The novel also explores the decades-long friendship between Lucretia Steward, Hettie’s mother, and Amelia Bartlette, the mother of Hettie’s first husband.

The novel resolves around an ensemble cast.  Other characters include Hettie’s sisters Ida and Mabel and their father Benjamin.

The family is in communication with Hettie via letters throughout the novel, and reveal their inner thoughts in journal entries.

The Homecoming Story

Adjustment Year is the homecoming story.  It takes place entirely in 1919 and describes the difficulty with adjusting to civilian life.

Hettie is once again the focus of the story.  She is newly married to her second husband, Alfred, a man she realizes she doesn’t know well.  In addition, she is finally able to mourn first husband, Geoffrey, and experience feelings she had suppressed while in the nursing service.

Alfred and Freddie also are adjusting to civilian life, and Hettie learns some family secrets.

The Same Characters are Present Throughout

The novels in the WW1 Trilogy all revolve around Hettie and her family and friends.  If you know them in one story, you’ll recognize them in the other two.

Hettie’s friends Bessie and Charlotte also appear in two of the three novels.

The Series is a Sequel to An As-Yet-Unpublished Trilogy

The WWI Trilogy is the sequel to another series that is currently in the rough-draft stage.  The series follows three of Hettie’s ancestors during the 19th century.

Book one is the story of Hettie’s great-grandmother, Claire, and how she and her husband came to reside in Barrie, Ontario.  (Journey of Hope, coming in January 2022)

Book two is the story of Hettie’s grandmother, Rose, and her work with the Underground Railroad.  (Rose’s Assignment, coming in April 2022)

Book three is the story of Lucretia and Amelia and how they met their husbands.  It’s also takes a look at the friendship when the women were young, and it was Amelia who was optimistic and Lucretia who disliked marriage.  (The Unmarriable Kind, coming in July 2022)