Geraniums
Geraniums is Marlene’s latest novel, published by The Book Guild, lauching on 28 April. Available to pre-order now in paperback.
Lily is only four when she realises her family is headed for disaster. While she and her siblings are dragged around the world during the 1960s and early ’70s by their military father Jack, he propels their mother, gentle, green-fingered Lauren Rose, to the edge of insanity through mental and physical abuse. A cat-and-mouse game of escape and entrapment ensues, testing Lily’s resilience, resourcefulness and family loyalty to the limit.
Jack, an emotionally scarred war veteran, enlists the help of his equally formidable mother Emma to turn his children against the fragile Lauren Rose. Their mission is to make the children conform to a strict, unforgiving code of behaviour and crush their spirited natures. Rebellion is met with increasingly harsh penalties.