Published tomorrow in hardback by Allison & Busby is WHEN THE MUSIC STOPPED by Beryl Matthews.
Set in London, 1912, WHEN THE MUSIC STOPPED follows identical twins Lester and Lillia Holdsworth – both destined for the stage. Lester is a brilliant pianist; Lillia a magnificent opera singer. But their cruel father has other ideas for their future. Lester is sent to a military academy, while Lillia must marry Lord Dalton - a self-righteous, pompous friend of her father's looking for a young wife to give him an heir. Yet their plans to defy their father's wishes are put on hold when war breaks out in 1914. Suddenly Lester is flying planes for the RFC and Lillia trains as a nurse to help those wounded at home, and then abroad. For both twins, the fighting brings hardships and difficult choices. They wait in hope, like the rest of Europe, for the war to end and the music to start again.
Matthews is an incredibly prolific writer, publishing a novel almost every year since 2002. Her first novel THE OPEN DOOR was published by Penguin when Matthews was 71.
About Beryl Matthews
As a young girl, Beryl Matthews’ ambition was to become a professional singer, but lack of funds drove her into an office, where she worked her way up from tea-girl to credit controller. After she retired, she began to pursue her dream of becoming a published author.