Two Wars and a Wedding

I won a copy of Lauren Willig's latest novel Two Wars and a Wedding (#1,123) in a GoodReads giveaway.  I entered the giveaway because I'm a fan of her work, so I was delighted to win it.

Her heroine, Betsy Hayes, is a strong-minded Smith graduate who acts impulsively and wants what she wants.  She's not always likeable, but as her backstory is spun out over the course of two parallel conflicts, she grows on you.  The narrative toggles between Betsy's involvement as a nurse in the Greek uprising against their Turkish overlords in the late 1890s and her determination to spare her best friend from Smith, Ava Saltonstall, the same brutal introduction to life by taking her place as a nurse in the Spanish-American War in 1898.

Although she is a wealthy heiress, things do not always go as Betsy plans: she is admitted to the American School in Athens because she wants to be an archaeologist, but the Professor in charge won't allow women on the dig sites.  When she's distracted by the social scene in Athens, her head is turned by a handsome Frenchman involved in the digs at Delphi.  Her friend Ava joins the Athenian socialites who are taking a First Aid Course, in case they should be needed at the front, where trouble is brewing with the Turks, so Betsy plays along.  Betsy fails the test but insists on having Queen Olga recommend her for the Red Cross, despite Ava's protests that she is unprepared to render actual aid.  But Betsy, being Betsy, goes ahead and comes out at the end a much sadder and not-necessarily-wiser woman.  Hence, her desire to protect Ava from making the same mistake by volunteering to go to Cuba with the troops.

In Tampa, Betsy meets up with her Yale Prom date, Peter, who is there with many of his gung-ho Ivy League classmates like the famous Hold 'em Holt in the Rough Riders Cavalry.  Soon, it's a rush to the front and the chaos of war, led by men who failed to prepare or provision properly.  And no, she doesn't prevent Ava from joining the Red Cross.  Their paths cross as Betsy struggles to take care of the sick and wounded under her care.

I found the backgrounds of these two conflicts very interesting, as I don't know much about either.  I think an author has succeeded if he or she makes you want to read more about the people, places or events they write about.  I also appreciated the shout out to Gilbert & Sullivan.  As a former Savoyard, I had the pleasure of performing in The Gondoliers myself.  I also appreciated the nod to the late, great Elizabeth Peters/Barbara Michaels/Barbara Mertz in the reference to the famous fictional archaeologist Amelia Peabody in the series which began with Crocodile on the Sandbank, still one of my all-time favorite books.  (I'll be re-reading her Red Lands, Black Lands written under her own name, Barbara Mertz, with her Egyptology credentials before I go there next year.)

So much to like about this book, and so much more to dig into.  I just had one minor quibble; I think the title of the book should have been Two Wars and Two Weddings.  You'll just have to read it for yourself to find out if you agree with me on that!