1. Part of the story takes place on Cape Cod in the year leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Much has been written about the English resilience during the Battle of Britain and the horrors befalling the citizens of Europe, but what about us? How was the threat of war affecting the regular citizen here in the US?
2. In 1940 The United States Postal Service was VERY IMPORTANT. Of course there were telephones, but most long distance communication was done through letters. Or the dreaded Telegram-O-Bad-News. Think about it: no email, no text messages, no emoticons, just good old handwritten letters on actual stationary. I have letters written by my father during WWII. They are priceless.
3. The postmaster/postmistress was a VERY IMPORTANT PERSON. He/she was responsible for all of this very important communication reaching the correct recipient. In the small town of this story, the residents came into the post office to collect their mail, so the postmistress, Iris James, knows everyone.
4. Iris James is a VERY interesting character.
5. Iris James' boyfriend keeps a vigilant look-out for German submarines in the waters off Cape Cod. Crazy or clairvoyant?
6. Part of the story takes place in London in the middle of the Blitz. Through persistence and hard work Frankie Bard has become a female broadcaster with the legendary Edward R. Murrow. Defying danger all around her, she reports on everyday life in the middle of bombed-out neighborhoods as people get on with their lives as best they can.
7. Frankie loves her job in London but desperately wants to report on conditions in Europe. She finally gets her chance, naively traveling into the heart of the matter as only a neutral reporter with the correct papers can do.
8. Frankie discovers so much more than she bargained for.
9. You will find yourself sympathizing with the dilemmas of these two women: Should all mail be delivered, and should all news be reported?
10. The Postmistress is a VERY GOOD BOOK.
TBC
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