My Dear I Wanted to Tell You

My Dear I Wanted to Tell You, the first novel by author Louisa Young, is set in London and France between 1907 and 1918. It shows the horrors of war and the impact on two sets of lovers.

Riley Purefoy, a working class boy meets Nadine Waveney, the daughter of a rich family at a skating rink when they are children. The children become friends and Riley is semi-adopted as a model and assistant by the Waveney’s friend Sir Albert, a famous painter. Riley is bright, attractive and learns much about art and the world. When Riley and Nadine are 18 they fall in love. Her family doesn’t approve. Riley impulsively joins the war effort to prove he’s a ‘man.’

Peter Locke is an upper middle class officer with a rather vapid wife called Julia. Peter becomes Riley’s commanding officer in the killing fields of France. The nightmare of World War I irrevocably changes the four main characters who stay with you long after you’ve finished this book.