Winds of Change

By Diana Bachmann

The Second World War is over and the family have returned to Guernsey.

Suzanne Martel is now happily married to architect Stephen, and together they are busy bringing up Sue’s three teenage children, and their own small son Bobbie in their Edwardian home, La Rocquette de Bas, on the peaceful Channel Island.

Each child presents a unique challenge to Sue and Stephen. Roddy, their eldest, is a puzzle to his parents: with no girls, no friends, he studies all the time. Then there’s Stephanie who, they hope, is just going through a phase – but in the meantime, how do they live with a teenager whose main interests are loud music, boys and outrageous clothes? Even Debbie, a gifted tennis player, is refusing to go to university or take her game seriously, preferring to stay on the island with her beloved Justin, whose lack of any respectable career ambitions makes him a less than ideal prospect for her.

The third generation of Martels and Gaudions is growing up fast, but will Sue’s concept of family unity survive the changing social, moral and family values of the modern world?

Diana Bachmann was born in Guernsey in 1950. She has three children and six grandchildren, plus a large family of stepchildren and step-grandchildren. Having lived in the Bahamas and Spain with her second husband, bestselling author Christopher Nicole, she has since returned to Guernsey. Inspired by her own experiences as a child evacuee during the Nazi occupation of the island, she authored the popular Guernsey Saga series.