An unpublished novel written over thirty years ago by Nicola Thorne, which she had completely forgotten, was found by her during a garage clear out after her move to West Dorset.

The novel had languished in the flotsam and jetsam she had carried about with her in the course of moving house over several years. Entitled The Little Flowers it was written after her first novel The Girls was published in 1967. The subject of the five girls living in a London boarding house was considered rather scandalous for its day, and as a contrast she decided to write a much gentler, nostalgic sort of novel about girls growing up in a convent boarding school during the war. This however, did not find favour with her then publishers, and it was put on the back burner and ultimately forgotten.

In 2002 Nicola was seriously injured in a car accident and was for many years unable to write since, so it was a great surprise and delight to discover the novel and have it so favourably received by Severn House. It seems that The Little Flowers written all those years ago but completely forgotten, was somehow determined after a long hibernation to see the light of day. It has scarcely been touched except for some cutting and light revision.

The Little Flowers

Pretty, feisty fifteen-year-old Andrea Mackintosh is used to a sophisticated lifestyle and visiting the cultural capitals of pre war Europe with her diplomat father. Then in 1942 she is suddenly plunged into the austere world of boarding school to which she has been sent in order to escape the London blitz.

Andrea, a Protestant, is at first unhappy in this strange new world of conformity governed be bells. However slowly she becomes assimilated under the guidance of a kindred sprit, rebellious Clare Bringley, with whom she eventually firms a close friendship.

Her charm bewitching personality and academic prowess soon make Andrea the envy of her classmates and a favourite of the nuns, particularly Reverend Mother who see in her a candidate ripe for conversion.

Gradually Andrea is absorbed into the life of the convent which, with its diverse personalities, petty feuds, hilarious misadventures, and many undercurrents reflects the uncertainty and turbulence of the world outside.

Praise for The Little Flowers

'As a one-time convent girl I came to The Little Flowers a bit warily. Almost to my surprise I found the world portrayed in it entirely recognisable, a narrow one steeped in religious practices, lit by occasional joys and sorrows, changing moods, crises and crushes. The action is fast, nuns and schools girls swept along in a narrative that combines the everyday with the exotic and is excitingly readable, sometimes funny, always credible. I sat straight down to it and couldn't stop, read to the end in a single sitting.' Isabel Quigly

'This gentle heart-warming story will delight those who are tired of the brash, frenetic style of so many contemporary novels. Readers who are educated at a convent The Little Flowers will revive nostalgic memories. For those like me who weren't this book is a fascinating insight to that experience.' Emma Drummond