The FitzOsbornes at War

About the Book

A cold numbness had settled upon me the moment Mr Chamberlain had begun to speak. I’d been praying for a last-minute miracle. For Stalin to change his mind, for the Americans to intervene, for Hitler to fall under a train . . . anything. Now I understood how stupid I’d been.

Sophie FitzOsborne and the royal family of Montmaray escaped their remote island home when the Nazis attacked. But now that war has come to England and the rest of the world as well, nowhere is safe.

Sophie fills her journal with tales of a life in wartime. Stories of blackouts and the Blitz. Dancing in nightclubs with soldiers on leave. And desperately waiting for news of her brother Toby, last seen flying over enemy territory.

But even as bombs rain down on London, hope springs up in surprising places, and love blooms. And when the Allies begin to drive their way across Europe, the FitzOsbornes take heart. Maybe, just maybe, there will be a way to liberate Montmaray – to go home again at last.

Sometimes heart-stopping, sometimes heart-breaking, Sophie’s story will, as always, capture readers’ hearts.

Praise for the award-winning Montmaray Journals

‘It’s
I Capture the Castle
meets the Mitfords in this entertaining confection.’
The Horn Book Magazine

'Michelle Cooper brings together truth and fiction to create a breathtaking book.’
www.booktrends.org

The Montmaray Journals

Book One

A Brief History of Montmaray

Book Two

The FitzOsbornes in Exile

Book Three

The FitzOsbornes at War

Contents

Cover

About the Book
Title
The Story So Far
3rd September, 1939
7th September, 1939
15th September, 1939
17th September, 1939
21st October, 1939
24th October, 1939
23rd November, 1939
5th December, 1939
15th December, 1939
24th December, 1939
20th January, 1940
16th March, 1940
21st April, 1940
13th May, 1940
29th May, 1940
9th June, 1940
15th June, 1940
20th July, 1940
2nd August, 1940
10th August, 1940
15th August, 1940
31st August, 1940
5th September, 1940
11th September, 1940
23rd September, 1940
16th October, 1940
24th October, 1940
18th November, 1940
30th November, 1940
24th December, 1940
25th December, 1940
19th January, 1941
12th March, 1941
6th April, 1941
11th May, 1941
28th June, 1941
24th August, 1941
21st December, 1941
28th April, 1942
14th May, 1942
17th May, 1942
26th May, 1942
7th June, 1942
19th June, 1942
11th July, 1942
5th September, 1942
16th November, 1942
12th December, 1942
Boxing Day, 1942
4th March, 1943
29th April, 1943
10th July, 1943
21st August, 1943
25th September, 1943
27th September, 1943
2nd October, 1943
19th October, 1943
26th November, 1943
13th December, 1943
28th December, 1943
14th January, 1944
17th January, 1944
28th January, 1944
21st February, 1944
2nd March, 1944
19th April, 1944
8th May, 1944
16th May, 1944
Toby’s Account of Events from May, 1942 to January, 1944; transcribed 16th May, 1944
20th May, 1944
2nd June, 1944
20th June, 1944
28th August, 1944
17th September, 1944
29th October, 1944
12th November, 1944
30th November, 1944
Four Years Later
21st August, 1948
Author Notes
About the Author
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Copyright
More at Random House Australia

The Story So Far

I
N
A B
RIEF
H
ISTORY OF
M
ONTMARAY
, Sophie FitzOsborne lived in a crumbling castle in the tiny island kingdom of Montmaray, along with her tomboy younger sister, Henry, her beautiful, intellectual cousin, Veronica, Veronica’s father, the completely mad King John, and their housekeeper, Rebecca. Sophie’s brother, Toby, was at boarding school in England, and Rebecca’s son, Simon, worked in London.

Their only visitors on the island were Captain Zuleta, whose cargo ship brought supplies, and Julia Stanley-Ross (the sister of Toby’s best friend, Rupert), along with Julia’s fiancé, Anthony. However, not long after the last remaining villagers (Alice, Mary and Jimmy) left the island, a German historian, Otto Rahn, and a Nazi officer, Hans Brandt, arrived on a search for the Holy Grail. Ignoring Veronica’s orders to stay away from the family, the Germans broke into the castle. Brandt was killed by mad King John, and Sophie and Veronica, aided by Rebecca, hid the mutilated body. A high-ranking officer named Gebhardt was sent to investigate Brandt’s disappearance. Gebhardt was injured in a confrontation with King John and left the island, vowing revenge. The King died later that day.

At King John’s funeral, Rebecca revealed that Simon was the King’s son, but the subsequent dispute over the throne was put aside when Toby was badly hurt in an accident. He and Henry were evacuated by Anthony in his aeroplane. Before the others could leave, though, Montmaray was attacked by German bomber planes. The rest of the family escaped from the island with the help of Captain Zuleta and Julia’s uncle, Colonel Stanley-Ross. The journal ended as Sophie arrived at her Aunt Charlotte’s country house in England, with Veronica injured by Rebecca in an attempted murder, no clear heir to the throne and their island home destroyed.

I
N
T
HE
F
ITZOSBORNES IN
E
XILE
, Sophie recounted the difficulties she had adjusting to her new life. Aunt Charlotte’s campaign to find Sophie and Veronica rich, titled husbands got off to a bad start at their first dinner party, when Veronica had a loud argument with Sir Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists. Sophie and Veronica then moved to Montmaray House in London, where they attended debutante balls, were presented at Court, and became close friends with Rupert, Julia and the extended Stanley-Ross family. The girls also got to know the children of the new US Ambassador, Joe Kennedy, and unwittingly made enemies of the British royal family. Despite being strictly chaperoned, Veronica managed a couple of meetings with Daniel, her former tutor, who was now running a Socialist newspaper.

In 1937, when Guernica was bombed during the Spanish Civil War and it became apparent that the Nazis were using Montmaray as a military base, the FitzOsbornes tried to convince the British government to take action against Germany. Meanwhile, the girls set up a house in Milford to care for Basque refugee children, including Carmelita, who became firm friends with Henry.

Veronica’s outspoken nature and left-wing political beliefs led to her receiving threatening letters, and she was attacked at Julia and Anthony’s wedding. Veronica’s assailant was later revealed to be a passionate Mosley supporter – and a former patient of the psychiatric clinic where Rebecca had been confined.

Veronica and Simon eventually put aside their longstanding enmity to join forces and petition the British Foreign Office to assist in the removal of the Germans from Montmaray, but the government was anxious to avoid any conflict with Hitler. With the help of Daniel, they wrote to Otto Rahn, asking him to support their case against Gebhardt. Otto agreed, but died soon afterwards in suspicious circumstances.

With war in Europe increasingly likely, Britain introduced conscription and Toby joined the Royal Air Force. In a last attempt to regain their homeland, the FitzOsbornes accepted an invitation to address the League of Nations in Geneva. Toby, Simon, Veronica and Sophie sneaked off, against their aunt’s wishes, but were spotted by Gebhardt and his men, who were determined to stop the FitzOsbornes revealing the truth about Montmaray’s invasion. After a terrifying chase across France, the FitzOsbornes evaded the Nazis and Veronica delivered her speech to the League of Nations, to great acclaim.