Under the Cover of Mercy by author Rebecca Connolly is a poignant, historical fiction about the final months of the brave, Red Cross nurse, Edith Cavil. This novel is based on a true story and is a moving account of the bravery and devotion of a person that has been lost in the pages of history. Edith was a British citizen that ran a nursing teaching clinic in Belgium. When the Germans invaded Belgium in 1915 during WWI, Edith decided to stay and continue in her compassionate calling to help heal all that were suffering. Her bravery came into play when she decided to treat everyone, including the Allied soldiers fleeing the Germans, which led to her helping the resistance movement in occupied Belgium. All-in-all she hid, healed, and helped to escape several hundred soldiers and those the Germans thought of as enemies, all while the Germans occupied her town. Her compassion showed no boundaries though because she continued to help care for the German soldiers brought to her clinic.
Edith’s example of loyalty to a cause, her bravery in the face of danger and her devotion to her faith are inspiring for the reader. While her name is not one to be touted in the text books of history, her example is one to not be forgotten and Rebecca Connolly’s beautifully written novel does just that. Edith Cavil is a remarkable woman that made her quiet mark on the world in the best way she knew how, by sticking to her principles and upholding that what she knew to be right.
Review of an Advance Reading Copy from Shadow Mountain Publishing
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: None
Violence/Gore: Note that the entirety of the novel takes place during the occupation of German troops during WWI and thus the underlying tension and possible threats are felt throughout the entire novel; Mention of German soldiers pillaging, ransacking, massacring and burning homes to the ground; Second-hand account of someone being dragged from their house and shot on the street; Characters being forced to do something at gunpoint (5 accounts); Second-hand account of someone being shot (3 accounts); Second-hand account of captive soldiers being executed; Implied that anyone being caught helping the resistance would be shot (3 accounts); Description of wounds caused by shrapnel; Character grabbed on her arm and pulled along to a different location; Account of finding a room ransacked; Mention of someone committing suicide by hanging; 5 page description of the emotions, actions and events that happen in the last half hour or so of character’s life leading up to their death by firing squad.
Sex/Nudity: Mention of character’s daughter holding hands with a soldier.
Mature Subject Matter:
War; Death; Suicide.
Alcohol/Drug Use:
Mention of soldiers drinking wine; Character orders a beer; Mention of drunken soldiers; Character invited to join someone having a glass of wine; Mention of someone being intoxicated.
