Suffolk author tells story of generation traumatised by WW2

The relics of the Second World War can still be found all around us, said a Suffolk author whose debut historical novel brings to life characters unable to speak about the traumas they have witnessed.

Sarah Hardy is already the author of two contemporary novels, her upcoming novel was inspired by the landscape of her home village of Sudbourne, near Orford. 

Sarah Hardy was inspired by her home in Sudbourne, near Orford, which she says still holds many memories of the Second World War. Credit: Tony Pick (Image: Tony Pick)

Set in 1946, the inhabitants of a fictional coastal village are still grappling with the atrocities they have witnessed during the Second World War. 

“So many were suffering from PTSD, but they wouldn’t have called it that,” explained Ms Hardy. 

“An entire society was scarred, not just the soldiers who fought. Those left behind were also affected – but they didn’t talk about it.” 

Ms Hardy’s grandfather fought in Galipoli during the First World War. She can remember being seven years old, and in her childish innocence, asking him if he had ever killed anyone. 

“I’ll never forget the look on his face,” Ms Hardy said. “He looked completely different to the grandfather I knew. He didn’t answer, and turned his back on me.” 

The Walled Garden will be published on March 16. Credit: Sarah Hardy (Image: Sarah Hardy)

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Like Ms Hardy’s grandfather, the fictional Sir Stephen Rayne is unable to talk about his role in the resistance. One year on from the conflict, Stephen is still an utterly changed from the man his wife, Alice, remembers. 

She in turn is struggling with her return to domesticity after her own active role during the war as a nurse. Meanwhile, the village doctor has born witness to his own horrors, but feels he cannot inflict these painful memories on those closest to him. 

“The characters all have their own secrets,” said Ms Hardy. “The big question with Sir Stephen is, what is it he has done?” 

The Walled Garden will be published on Thursday, March 16. 

To pre-order a copy, visit: www.waterstones.com/book/the-walled-garden/sarah-hardy/9781838779252

Last month, Essex author Cherry Burroughs published her novel The Farmer and the Fury to mark the 70th anniversary of the 1953 floods which ravaged the east coast.