The Letter Reader by Jan Casey is an interesting novel which switches back and forth between WWII when Connie was a WREN and her job was reading letters to be mailed out of the country and cutting out parts that might give out too much information, and being alert for letters written in code where the objective was damage to the country. The rest of the story is over twenty years later when Connie becomes consumed by some of the letters she read because her life has become meaningless, a rut she has no desire to live in. Her husband, Arthur, loves her, of that there is not doubt, but he has confined her to a small and meaningless life and she wants more. She takes, it slowly. At first, a trip to the beauty parlor and a new hairdo. Then quarterly trips to London to visit her brother and sister-in-law. Arthur thinks he has arranged this, too. Little does he realize. Dora, her sister-in-law is researching her family tree and Connie sees a chance to follow up on some of the people she has worried about from the war.

As she gains some independence, she realizes that she cannot to back to her life with Arthur. When she announces her intention to leave him, Dora and her husband, Ken, are thrilled. They have waited years for her to see the light. Connie is a good character, probably representative of many of the women who got out during the war and were relegated to small lives when the husbands come home. It was a moving story an informative, as well. I enjoyed it.

I was invited to read a free e-ARC of The Letter Reader by Aria & Aries, through Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine. #Netgalley #AriaAndAries #JanCasey #TheLetterReader

I found the details of Connie’s war work absolutely fascinating and obviously the product of extensive research by the author. Of course, I was aware of the censorship of mail but I was unaware of the meticulous processes that lay behind it and the extent of the training censors undertook in order to be able to spot many different types of codes that could be hidden in ordinary seeming correspondence. I could completely understand Connie’s joy whenever she spotted something suspicious. And I felt Connie’s sadness as she read letters with gossip from home that often, one sensed, hid the reality of daily deprivations and danger. And, of course, the possibility that the intended recipients of the letters might no longer be around to receive them. Some of the letters leave a lasting impression on her. ‘She’d agonised about all of them during the war; worried about each of their dilemmas; been privy to their deepest, darkest thoughts and most hopeful moments.’

Connie’s wartime activities threw up some potentially interesting secondary characters – Dotty and the mysterious Angelique spring to mind – although they disappear quite quickly from the story, perhaps illustrating the transience of relationships during wartime.

Another of the standout elements of the book for me was the way the author recreated the 1960s, a period of many new things – in fashion (miniskirts and white boots) and music (the Monkees and the Beatles) – but also still with many remnants of the old. As a child of the 60s, the mention of watching Z Cars on the television and eating pineapple upside-down cake evoked early memories.

It was sad to see Connie’s transformation from practical and resourceful woman to subservient wife, ground down by her husband Arthur’s controlling attitude and obsession for routine, even in their sex life. Theirs has become a stale, empty marriage full of regret and dashed hopes. ‘It was as if they were ground down by each other in a way that bombs and blackouts and rations had never been able to achieve.’ Personally, I found it hard to see what Connie ever saw in Arthur. It seemed to me the warning signs were there from early on: his reluctance to allow Connie to become involved in war work at all and his vetoing of a wonderful opportunity she is offered, all dressed up as a desire to keep her safe. Although he writes at one point that he wants to be ‘her haven, her refuge and her sanctuary’, he ends up being almost her jailer, acting more like a husband from the 1860s than the 1960s. Today, we would recognise some of his actions as coercive control. There were moments later in the book when I had slight sympathy for him but this was countered by the thought that his actions had all come too late and were motivated more by self-pity than a genuine change of heart. I did wonder, however, if knowing more about his experiences during the war might have shed light on his actions and attitudes, especially his need for routine and control.

It was joyful to follow Connie’s attempts to break free from the shackles of her marriage, even if her search for the individuals whose letters she had read during the war seemed a little like obsession. Perhaps, more generously, it was a need to deal with ‘unfinished business’ or to find that life had been kinder to the correspondents than to her. Incidentally, I loved the way her brother and sister-in-law supported and encouraged her.

Jan Casey’s previous book, The Woman with the Map, was one of my top ten favourite books of 2022. For me, The Letter Reader didn’t have quite the same emotional heft but I really liked the fascinating detail about postal censorship and the focus on the contribution made by women to the war effort.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

connie allinson joined the wrns to do her bit for the war effort, her job was to sensor mail written to and from the armed forces and she was married to arthur who was away fighting

this story is told in 1941 and 1967 so we can see connies role in the war and after, dont really want to give to much away about the storyline but connies role during the war gave her a taste for a job and independence

its an interesting read and hits the nail on the head several times with how war work and how women were treated back then

Leftover Secrets

In 1941 Connie is a soldier in the WRNS. She is assigned to a unit as a letter reader censoring the letters between soldiers and their families. She makes new friends with the other WRNS as she goes about her work. Reading the letters she at times wonders what happened to the people in the letters and some of the more interesting ones she remembers names and addresses after her time of service and always wonders about the people behind the letters.

In 1967 she is a wife with no children and a lot of time on her hands. She is bored and her husband Arthur is controlling and doesn't allow her to work nor to change her schedule even to the foods they eat each day. The days are planned out and each is the same as the last.

It is a story of the profile of women during this time period and how they were expected to be nothing other than wife and mother. They were expected to care for the home while the husband worked and do as he said. The woman's wishes were not considered in things like buying houses and such.

The women were needed during the war to fill jobs left by the men as they went overseas to war. They did a good job of filling those jobs, but when the men returned home they wanted their jobs back. This left the women without jobs and back being wives and mothers again with no other options.

The 60's was also a time of transition where women were getting bolder and they were asserting their independence and their worth. The fashions were changing, they were cutting their hair and wearing more fashionable clothing. They were finding jobs outside the home and becoming what they dreamed.

Finally Connie can stand it no longer, she leaves Arthur, goes to London to stay with her brother and searches for the people in the letters she read so long ago hoping to find some endings to the stories.

Will she find the secrets she craves and will Connie and Arthur find their way back to each other or is it a lost cause ?

It was an interesting book about the after thoughts of the war, about relationships and how they often work, about friendships and dreams that don't go away. I enjoyed reading it and would recommend it.

Thanks to Jan Casey for writing an interesting story, to Aria and Aries for publishing it and to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy to read and review.

Thank you for the chance to read this ARC in return for my honest opinion.

I can’t really say I enjoyed this book, it was very very slow at times and has taken me longer to read than most books do.
The dual timeline aspect added to the narrative though I began to get very annoyed with Connie (and more so with Arthur) as the book went on
Then right at the end when I was trying to finish the book I found myself with tears in my eyes.

I too knew that letters were censored in the War though I had not realised bits could actually be cut out. I thought that sensitive words were just crossed through. I also had no idea that there were mobile units or that the Wrens would move around so.
I found the fact that Connie wanted to trace people in the letters slightly odd and I suppose in these days when stalking is a real issue slightly disturbing.
However I can see she was so unhappy with her life with Arthur and felt so unfulfilled that she felt the need to do something other than cook, clean and pander to Arthur’s tedious demands.
I suppose that these days women wouldn’t put up with coercive control whereas a wife did pander to her husband in both the 40’s and to a lesser extent the 60’s - although it didn’t say so I imagine Arthur would have blamed Connie for their childless state as well.

I am a child of the late 50’s and like another reviewer I don’t remember helmets for push bikes but I do remember the leather helmets and goggles for moped and motorbikes (and scooters) in the 60s.
I really do not remember oven chips till much later. Fish fingers were a school holiday lunchtime treat.

The book was well researched obviously perhaps over researched and well written

For lovers of historical fiction is gave a different insight

The Letter Reader is a really interesting well written dual timeline that covers an interesting original story during WW2. A story of love, empowerment and independents.
I did find the pace a little slow in points, but really enjoyed finding out about the process of censoring correspondence during the war and women fighting for a voice and independents after the war.
I would like to thank Aria & Aries, NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this complimentary copy for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Having recently come back from a trip to auswitch I found this book to be perfect for me. Really enjoyed it.

London, 1941. Connie Allison's husband Arthur is in the Royal Navy, she's keen to do her bit and Connie joins the WRNS. After basic training, Connie becomes a letter censor, she has to check all correspondence and make sure sensitive information doesn’t get into the wrong hands. Connie has to thoroughly scrutinize the letters and packages, remove or cross out anything that doesn’t pass and report something suspicious higher up.

Connie enjoys her job, she makes friends, and Connie receives a promotion and she works at a variety of bases all over England. During her time as a censor, Connie reads people’s private thoughts, including written declarations of love, bad news and secrets. After the war ends, Connie's demobbed, and she’s looking forward to settling down with Arthur and starting a family.

Doncaster, 1967. Arthur works as an engineer, he accepts a transfer to a new power station and it’s in South Yorkshire. Connie is invited to coffee mornings at her neighbours houses, they all have children and unfortunately she and Arthur haven't been blessed with little ones. Arthur has always been an old soul, as the years go by and it’s become an issue for Connie, she isn’t happy and her husband hasn't noticed.

Arthur gives Connie permission to visit her brother and sister-in-law in London, how kind of him and he organizes the whole trip. Connie still remembers a couple of letters that stood out from the thousands she read, and she uses her free time in London to find out what happened to senders and it gives her a new lease on life.

I received a copy of The Letter Reader by Jan Casey from NetGalley and Aria & Aries in exchange for an honest review. The dual timeline narrative is really interesting, all mail had to be checked during the Second World War, it needed to be read by someone and I had never considered who performed this vital task.

The story emphasizes the line that’s crossed in a relationship when one person through manipulation or being overbearing makes their partner conform to their own wants and needs, this type of behavior is wrong and it’s an important message conveyed by Ms. Casey. Four stars from me, I highly recommend, The Letter Reader and the author’s previous book, The Women of Waterloo Bridge.

Refreshingly different!

The central idea of this book is about oppression - being denied a voice.

Author Jan Casey brings her readers a compelling female character with a unique career as well as a fantastic story stretched over two intriguing periods in history; wartime employment and the grassroots of the woman’s national movement.

Imagine reading communication sent and received by soldiers - you’d be privy to all their secrets! Connie Allinson works for the navy (WRNS) as a letter censor during WW2 and has no idea the impact that secret keeping will have on her future.

Fast forward to Doncaster in 1967… Connie, childless and unhappily married, discovers that being denied a voice is impacting her mental health and marginalizing her needs. Furthermore, her husband’s control is making it difficult for her to develop a full sense of her place and purpose. Having her voice stifled, hides who Connie is and what she’s really about.

How ironic that what Connie did (deny soldiers’ voices) twenty years ago in an effort to help the war effort, is the very thing that she’s fighting against in her own marriage.

Can she channel the frustration into shedding light on the secrets from the past? Can she find the inner strength to find her independence? Most of all, can she keep a secret from Arthur?

This compelling story will demand your free time and seep into your thoughts when you aren’t reading it! Highly recommended.

I was gifted this copy by Aria & Aries and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

A different aspect to WW2, everyone knows letters had to be censored but it isn't something you would think about. This is a dual time novel as it is later set in 1967. Things have changed but not with this husband, the wife must do as she is told, as were a lot of wives in those days. She tries to go back to the past to see what is happening to some of the people who wrote those letters. You must read this to find out what happens. Well worth 5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC

The Letter Reader was a slow read for me. At first I couldn't quite figure out why. Then I realized that the author was giving me a lot of information, a lot to research. The writer chose a unique way of giving glimpses into the lives of those living through World War 2.

Through letters read by Connie, as a Wren Censor, I learned about so many different things that went on during the war. There were so many glimpses into British lives that made reading a joy. I knew that people, like my aunt, played an important part, but I didn't know that there were so many different and unique jobs. I knew that letters were censored, but I never thought by whom or the dedication that they must have had. Total respect for those that had to read and try not to get emotional involved. For Connie, sometimes the letters got the best of her.

The reader learns of her struggles because of a dual time line. The story takes place during the war and in 1967. Thanks to to the relationship between Connie and her husband, Arthur, I now have a better understanding of my granddad. I now understand my great uncle's struggles. I am so grateful to the author for helping me gain a better understanding.

Connie is not happy in the life she is living with Arthur. She has lost the identity that she had as a Wren. She can't stop thinking about some of the people in the letters. The reader gets to learn what happened to those she could not forget right along side Connie. After all the snip snip scratch scratch that Connie did, she gets to put some stories back together.

The Letter Reader was a dramatic story. The story brought out many emotions. The story illustrated that you don't have to be on the frontline, you don't have to be caught in a bombing, to be forever changed by war. I hope you read The Letter Reader and learn from it like I did.

this book is set in dual timelines of 1941 and 1967 and is based around Connie's story
on the whole I enjoyed reading 'The letter reader'. I felt it was a little slow initially but persevered and I enjoyed the book.

What a delight this book is! Well, at the beginning it was moving slowly and I felt like we were stuck in a recurring pattern. But once I realized I felt the same way the main character was feeling, and saw the humour in it as well, I was fully invested. The search for fulfilment and happiness is a universal theme and I thought the resolution for our main character was satisfying. And isn't that why they fought a war? :)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

1941. London. Keen to do her bit in the war, Connie Allison joins the WRNS and is posted as a letter censor. Her task: is to read all the correspondence to ensure no sensitive information crosses enemy lines. At first, she's not sure she's up to it, but soon drawn in by the letters she reads and their secrets....

1967. Doncaster. Bored of her domestic life, Connie desperately wants a job, but her controlling husband Arthur won't hear of it. Looking for an escape and plagued by memories of letters she read during the war, she makes a bid for freedom and starts secretly tracking sown their authors. Will uncovering their past give Connie the key to her present? And will she be able to find them all before Arthur discovers what she is keeping from him?

The pace is slow to begin with then it gets to a steadier pace. I found the first part of this story to be quite intriguing. Learning more about letter censoring during the war. Then we get to the second part of the story where all Connie longs for is a job. Once the war was over, and the men came home, women all over the country had to give up their jobs and return to being housewife's. The dual timelines of 1941 and 1967 were brought together seamlessly. I liked when Connie eventually got the strength to stand up for herself against her controlling husband. I liked how this story ended.

Overall, I enjoyed this book! I'm a huge fan of historical fiction centering on women during WWII.

Of the dual timelines told, I particularly loved the young Connie Allinson's time spent as a letter censor in 1941. Letter censorship during World War II isn't a topic I've come across (and I do love historic fiction set in this era). She was bright and empowered, and this timeline was fascinating.

I struggled a bit more with the 1967 storyline. This wasn't the same Connie I was experiencing in the earlier timeline, and the way her husband Arthur treated her was just beyond frustrating. The middle section of this timeline particularly dragged with the scenes of her feeling trapped and Arthur being so heavy handed.

However, the last third of the 1967 storyline improved as the characters all undergo a lot of growth (and backbone). I was cheering on Connie at the end.

Thank you to Netgalley and Aria for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Letter Reader is a well written story told in dual time lines starting in 1941 and 1967.

This is Connie's story and those of women who took jobs during WW2 to contribute as much as they could while their husbands, brothers, fathers were off fighting the war.

Connie becomes a Letter Reader , a censor of letters. We know those took place of course but I never took the time to consider the effect of reading letter after letter would have on these ladies.

1967 Connie is unhappy in her marriage and wants more from life. Some of the letters she wrote haunted her and she just has to know what happened to some of the people.

This time era brings back memories of fashion and music and was quite enjoyable.

I couldn't help but route for Connie and hoped she would find her path to happiness.

Highly recommend The Letter Reader to all.

Thanks to NetGalley and Aria& Aires, Aria for a captivating read.

I’m a huge fan of WWII historical fiction, so I was excited to read this book. It didn’t disappoint. The dual timelines kept it interesting and moving at a good pace. I truly cared about the main character and felt drawn into her story. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys historical fiction and mystery.

A very engaging story! I was rooting for Connie all the way 🙌 My first book by Jan Casey and I love her style of writing!

This is a dual time setting story that takes place in England and alternates from 1941 during WW II and then continues on in 1967. It had an interesting take from some of the other WW II stories. In 1940 a young Connie Allinson (whose husband is off fighting the war in the Navy) joins the WRNS as a Petty Officer in the letter censorship section. She must read correspondence between military members and their families. She has to make sure people are not giving away secrets and sending sensitive messages that the enemy could capitalize on. Some of the letters and people Connie can not forget. Over twenty years later in 1967 Connie is living a monotonous life with her husband Arthur. They have no children and she feels controlled and yearns to work outside of the home. Connie starts to think about the letters from the war and wonders how the people have faired through the years.

I liked both storylines but I did enjoy the 1967 one just a little bit more. Essentially, this is a story about a woman who has been stifled and is no longer happy. She begins to slowly take control of her life once again. I liked the ending. It was happy but still left us wondering.

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Aria & Arias for granting me access to this Advance Reader Copy.

Available May 11, 2023

Moving between her time as a WRN censor during World War II and life as a childless housewife in a company town in 1967, The Letter Writer is Connie’s story and that is what intrigued me - a timeslip story with two historic times and one main character.

Jen Casey has framed this story brilliantly. We meet Connie Allinson as she signs up to do her bit in the war effort and see her make decisions, sometimes in spite of what her husband may prefer, and again in 1967 when her discontent begins to boil over within a less purposeful life. Arthur’s letters also introduce his controlling ways that continue into their regimented lives in 1967 Doncaster. There is no question as to how their lives came to be as they are twenty some years on, but Connie’s growing restlessness leads her to fixate on finding out what happened to some of the people whose letters she read as a censor during the war.

A gently paced novel that nevertheless pulls the reader along, exploring the status of a married woman and leading towards a long awaited bid for independence, with one of the main questions being how will Arthur react to the changes in his “Treasure” and will the odious man change in any way?

With The Letter Writer, Jen Casey has reminded me how much there is to enjoy in a story with an open but hopeful ending. Highly recommended.

This review refers to a temporary digital galley that I voluntarily read through NetGalley, courtesy of the publisher. A positive review was not required and all opinions expressed are my own.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy.

I absolutely loved this book.

It’s a dual timeline story, 1941 where Connie has joined the WRNS and is sent to HMS Holborn, working as a letter censor, a job she loves doing and is thinking of the contents afterwards.

Having recently got married, to Arthur, who is a bit controlling.

Now in 1967 she’s living with Arthur in Doncaster and continuing her role as a wife. Which doesn’t give her much time for herself. Will things change?

Following an argument Arthur allows her to go see her brother, which gives her a chance to find the letters from the war, and what their outcome was.

I highly recommend this book.