Cover Image: Betsy & Lilibet

Betsy & Lilibet

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Member Reviews

Some years ago I read Sophie Duffy’s debut novel, The Generation Game, and loved it for its nostalgic feel and social references. I’ve long been meaning to read another of her books, and in particular Betsy and Lilibet with its royal connection as I am a huge fan of royal fiction.

Betsy Sunshine and Elizabeth Windsor were born on the same day in 1926. Of course, we know that one was born a princess and went onto be a queen. Betsy was born an undertaker’s daughter and went onto be an undertaker herself, taking over the family business when there were no sons as heirs to Sunshine & Sons. Over the course of their lives Betsy and Elizabeth meet three times. This is very much Betsy’s story though, with the royal link being more of a background feature, and a series of cleverly written parallels.

I enjoyed this book immensely. I love a story of one person or family that spans a long period and this book follows Betsy from her birth until 2016 when she’s in a residential home. It’s dual timeline with alternating chapters set in 2016 and then throughout Betsy’s life, looking back to key events. Duffy’s sharp wit is in evidence and I laughed out loud so many times. She has a way of describing things that is steeped in dry humour and Betsy’s own acerbic manner just added to that. With any family comes the highs and the lows and Betsy has her share of bad fortune. Her strength and stoicism kept her going and she's a brilliantly drawn character.

Betsy and Lilibet is a wonderful novel, one for any fans of 20th century historical events. Alongside Betsy I witnessed the war years, the VE day celebrations, the royal wedding, the coronation and then later, IRA bombings, HIV and AIDS, and the death of a princess. Having Betsy be an undertaker was such a great move too, giving a sense of the passage of life that we all must take, and it made her a sympathetic character, putting on a good show no matter what. This book also reminded me of all that I liked about Duffy’s writing in The Generation Game and I now want to make sure I read her other books as well.

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This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

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I've read a lot of domestic fiction set around the time of both world wars, and this has to be one of the most different ones, and quite possibly the very best.

This is, essentially, the story of Betsy Sunshine; born on the same day as Queen Elizabeth II, but into a very different kind of life. This covers her childhood, growing up and her family at each stage of her life and it is and interesting and beguiling tale with it's roots set in realism. 

Such a terrific read! At each age, Betsy demonstrates wisdom far beyond most of us; she lives in whatever present day she finds herself in and her body may get old but, my goodness, her mind is strong and her memories are entertaining. Her family are quite possibly the same as everyone else's, but they're hers and therefore so very different! I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to discover that Sophie Duffy has written two other books, and I hope I can find the time to read them in 2019. If you enjoy domestic sagas, and in particular a packed novel with a different take from the norm, then this is one I heartily recommend.

My thanks to Legend Press for my copy via Netgalley. I read this book of my own free will and this review is entirely my own.

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This is one of the most enjoyable books I have read this year.

Betsy Sunshine is born the same day as Princess Elizabeth in London, 1926. Princess Elizabeth becomes Queen; Betsy becomes an undertaker.

This is a story about love. Betsy is 90 years old and looking back at over key events in her life. She reflects on her childhood, life during the Blitz and VE day, coronation day, IRA bombings, Princess Diana's death all the way up to the nearly present day.

The book is rich in historic detail and atmosphere. Betsy grows as a woman and her opinions change and develop to reflect the attitudes of the time. She is warm, humorous and at times brutally honest as she makes peace with some of her past decisions that still haunt her and have had lasting consequences for the people she loves.

I was expecting the Queen to have a bigger role in the story but her presence is felt throughout the book as Betsy life and the life of the British people is anchored to the rituals and traditions of royalty. The quotes from the Queen's speeches have particular resonance throughout the story as Betsy herself feels a strong sense of duty and the connection between the women is clearly more than a shared birthday.

Considering this book features a lot of death it is in no way depressing. The Sunshines and their attitude to death and respect for the bereaved is insightful and sensitive. Betsy accepts her destiny and serves her community in the way she best knows how.

If you like historical novels and family sagas this is a great read and I will definitely be recommending it to friends.

Thank you Sophie Duffy, Legend Press and NetGalley for this advanced copy in return for an honest review.

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Loved this book with it's rich tapestry of characters and nostalgia. Such a cleverly woven, utterly unique storyline and setting. Smiles and tears in abundance. Superb!

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Betsy & Lilibet was a cherrypop for me as I hadn't previously read a book by Sophie Duffy and the cover caught my attention, well what a brilliant choice this book was to try a different author in one of my favourite genres.

Betsy & Lilibet is written from the perspective of Betsy and is written across two time frames starting in London in 1926 and Bognor present day and as the book progresses the timeline gap closes. 

I found this story captivating and I quickly became connected to Betsy and wanted to keep reading. She was a strong female in a time where women had no choice but to be strong, these characteristics remained long after the war and paved her way through life. 

During this story I felt empathy for Betsy as she always felt out shined by her sister Margie and compassion for her relationship with Janet that is never the same after she makes a decision that alters the courses of both of their lives.

Betsy is a strong and dignified character that controls her emotions from a young age and treats everyone as equals, learning the family trade at a tender age and then taking over her parents business as a Funeral Director when they retire. Throughout this wonderful story there are some fantastic phrases that I felt resonated and gave the strong message that everyone should be treated with respect both in life and in death - "We're all equal. We come into the world with nothing and we leave with nothing and what we have in between is only borrowed us".

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend Betsy & Lilibet, Sophie Duffy is an author I will now look out for and I will be purchasing her previous books as I loved the writing style in which this heart warming story was written.

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I adored Sophie Duffy’s previous books, so was thrilled to have the opportunity to read Betsy and Lilibet, which sounded like and indeed proved to be an entrancing read.

It opens in 2016 with the words “I never thought I’d be old”. But there Betsy Sunshine is, nearly ninety years of age, living in a Bognor Regis care home and looking back at her life: born weighing three pounds and a bit, named after the equally brand new princess, surviving against the odds.

Betsy tells her own story and I really loved her voice. Other than her name and the day of her birth, undertaker’s daughter Betsy apparently has little in common with Princess-later-Queen Elizabeth yet their lives run in parallel and even occasionally intersect, throughwartime, feuding with a difficult younger sister, sweeping social change, Thatcherism, terrorism and complex family relationships (oh, how complex!).

Betsys account of her life story is interspersed with her present day narrative (I especially loved her observations about life in the care home), and quotes - I assume real ones - from her namesake and birthday-sharer Queen Elizabeth II. As family and friends gather round her, are some of Betty’s chickens finally coming home to roost?

There are some glorious moments here - Sophie Duffy really excels at characterisation and dialogue. The conversation between Betsy and her great grandson Tom was particularly fabulous but there are many others equally memorable and quotable. I loved the ending too.

Hilarious and heartbreaking in equal measure, Betsy and Lilibet is a captivating story of love, death and everything else. Highly recommended.

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This is such a beautiful book that touches on emotions, social history and family complexities. I can’t recommend it enough! It’s about so much more than two women born on the same day: both called Elizabeth, both with wayward sisters called Margaret. Thrillingly, their paths cross three times in the book, although on one occasion, neither knows it.

The detail from life in wartime London was especially evocative and will stay with me for a very long time. We know it was tough and that there were bombings, but in this book, we find out exactly which details of everyday life were derailed in a blink. From the cold and the hunger and the flaking paint, to entire families being wiped out overnight, to locals who joined up never to be seen again, and to the people left behind to put the pieces back together.

The story is told through the eyes of Elizabeth “Betsy” Sunshine, who is born into a family of undertakers, with a grisly workload throughout the war effort. We are taken through wartime London, death, destruction, love, babies, society and its judgements, and how life really was for women through the forties, fifties, sixties, seventies and right up to 2016.

I loved Betsy Sunshine, with all her bluntness and honesty and her very modern refusal to judge anyone: in her job, she sees that the dead are all equal and the living shouldn’t judge the living.
Through Betsy’s eyes we experience VE Day, the Coronation, the IRA bombings in the 70s, the death of Princess Diana, honours at Buckingham Palace, London bombings, runaway offspring, complex family relationships, cover ups, friendships, love and redemption. I saw every detail as she described it. A fascinating peek into the real, everyday lives of our ancestors that we can only begin to guess at.

Beautifully done! Highly recommended.

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Betsy & Lilibet is a heartwarming story of Londoner Betsy, born on the same day at Queen Elizabeth. Her story of growing up during the Blitz and learning the family business of undertaking is interspersed with chapters from the view of Betsy as she approaches her 90th birthday in a nursing home.

Betsy’s life story feels real, and her family relationships aren’t always sunshine and rainbows; in fact there is a decision Betsy makes that has the power to rip her family apart, and is still unresolved in her old age.

I enjoyed this story because the characters-especially Betsy-were well developed and relatable. I also enjoyed reading about life during the war, and thinking about what my grandparents lived through. Queen Elizabeth only makes fleeting appearances, but the feeling of kinship that Betsy feels with her is her part of the story more than anything.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for my free advance copy, in return for an unbiased review.

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Betsy and Lilibet is a wonderful, charming and funny story that I absolutely adored!

The story follows Betsy throughout her whole life, from her birth through the war and all that followed in the twentieth century. Interspersed with this is Betsy as a 90 year old, remembering her life from a nursing home and quotes from Queen Elizabeth II who despite only meeting her three times has a big influence on Betsy’s life.

It’s hard not to fall in love with Betsy and her wonderful descriptions of her life, particularly when she was a kid. Her unique narrative and childlike view of things made me smile and laugh out loud at times. She was such a relatable, real character and some of the incidents she mentions relating to her sister were things I remember arguing with my sister about. She obviously had a huge chip on her shoulders regarding her sister, feeling she’s never as good as she is which tugged at my heart strings as, from my point of view, she was by far the nicer sister!

Betsy’s family is another fabulous creation from the author and some of my favourite scenes from the book were those involving her family. They are obviously very close and share a wonderful warmth that was touching to read about. The family run an undertakers which helped add a new element to the story and shapes Betsy, as her father always installs in her a quiet dignity when dealing with the dead that Betsy takes with her throughout her life.

There are quite a few surprising twists and turns that I wasn’t expecting in this story and definitely made the story more interesting. The book reads a bit like an autobiography or diary rather than a piece of historical fiction which makes it very readable. The reader becomes aware early on of a secret that Betsy has kept secret most of her life and still worries her in old age. Throughout the book we learn more about this and it was great to read about Betsy working through her worries.

This is the first book by this author I have read and I will definitely be reading more from her in the future. If you liked Any Human Heart by William Boyd then you’ll enjoy this book as I felt the styles were similar.

Huge thanks to Lucy from Legend Press for inviting me onto the blog tour and for my copy of this book. If you like historical fiction with heart then you’ll love this book.

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Two girls, born on the same day in the same city, both named Elizabeth, but who lead very different lives. This is the central premise of Betsy and Lilibet by Sophie Duffy, The Lilibet of the title is more properly known as Elizabeth II, the Queen of England, while Betsey is the daughter of a family of London based undertakers. While there are very obvious differences in their upbringings, there are also a surprising number of parallels, from an attention seeking younger sister, to a real sense of duty and obligation and a powerful work ethic.
Spanning from prewar London to modern day Brighton, as Lilibet reminisces about her life, her loves and her biggest regrets , we follow her through the fear of nightly bombings, the joy of victory, the passion of falling in love and the determination to keep the family business going, It soon becomes obvious that something from her past haunts her, and the decision she made has rippled throughout her family .
This is a heartwarming tale, with a lot of emotion, The author has done a wonderful job of creating a character the reader can care about, even as she makes decisions that we might not agree with. Cleverly she has interspersed quotations from "Lilibet" throughout the book, allowing the reader to see the parallels between these two strong and determined women.

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3.5 stars


Definitely feel this is a put your feet up with a cuppa book... despite the main character being a little reserved with her affection,there's a warmth to this book that made me smile.
There's a big cast of characters,and you'll recognise someone you know for sure.
Set in an area I know,the familiarity always makes me enjoy a book more,as you really are picturing them walking down that street.
This book covers a lot of the main news topics of the last 90 odd years,but the family drama is always more intense.
Enjoyable

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