Book Description
In 1907, Sylvia’s mother, worn out by hard work, poverty and giving birth to six children, dies unexpectedly. Sylvia’s father forces her to leave school at twelve years of age to look after her brothers and sister, crushing her ambition of becoming a teacher. Against her will, Sylvia spends the next seven years caring for her family and denying her own dreams and hopes for the future until she finds herself attracted to George, a refined, handsome Englishman. Even though she has sworn never to marry and end up like her mother, Sylvia begins to contemplate a future with George, but it is 1914, and the world is about to be thrust into the turmoil of World War One, which will change the world forever. George, determined to fight for his country, joins the Australian Imperial Forces, leaving Sylvia behind in Tasmania. Will George and Sylvia’s relationship survive the upheaval and changes brought about by the war, or does fate have other plans for them? “Sylvia” is the gripping tale of a woman’s fight to realise her ambitions against a background of poverty, war and change. A story of love, family, loss and hope.