Hope Against Hope

Polly feels trapped in a thankless life. Helping out her elderly father in the shop while her brother struggles to recover from the war isn’t getting her anywhere—and the other girls moving to the city to get jobs aren’t as good at school as she was. So when a horrible argument with her brother gets out of control, she runs away to join her best friend Catherine in Belfast.

Hope House, where Catherine is living, sounded a bit like a boarding school in her letters—but it’s actually a groundbreaking endeavour allowing girls from both Protestant and Catholic backgrounds to live independently.

Polly offers to help out in the small sewing factory and pitch in with the cleaning to earn her keep, the same as everyone else. She’s a hard worker, but the steep learning curve of the sewing machine is brutal. Eventually, she begins to settle in and make friends other than Catherine. And as she learns more about Hope House, she becomes determined to change it for the better.

The people in the community are distrustful of the philosophy of Hope House. Allowing females to live together without men, and—even worse—Protestants and Catholics to reside together, goes against their ideology. Bricks get thrown through windows, and the residents have trouble finding sewing commissions. The seclusion of Hope House doesn’t help to change the attitudes of their community. Polly has the idea to have an open day and invite the locals to come past their high walls to see the sewing factory and get to know them a little better. Everything’s going well until a Unionist, Fraser, makes trouble.

Later, Polly discovers that Fraser had forced a Protestant girl from Hope House—Ivy—to sew a flag for him in support of the King, even though supporting a particular side goes against Hope House’s code. Polly takes the flag to Fraser and cuts it up in front of him, and in retaliation the factory is burned down. Noone is hurt, and the incident gives the heads of Hope House the opportunity to reach out to other communities with similar ideals. And it seems that the fair did help to bring the rest of the community closer to Hope House—the radicals are the exception rather than the norm ...

This is an excellent book with layered themes and discussion points. From the conflict between Catholics and Protestants, to firstwave feminism and the effects of war and PTSD, the concerns of the historical setting are communicated in accessible and relatable language. Themes of peace, hope, community and friendship will be relatable to any reader, and Polly’s independence and passion make her a nuanced protagonist and the story overall a deeply enjoyable read.

history, Ireland, the Troubles, religion, Catholicism, Protestantism, conflict, mistrust, ideology, politics, feminism, independence, work, war, PTSD, community, friendship, loyalty

1. Language: bloody x 4, bitch x 2, bastard x 2, “Hoors” (sic] x 1. 2. Leo punches Polly (p. 25). Fraser punches Patrick (p. 156). Stella is hit in the head with a brick. Polly thinks she’s dead, but she was just knocked out (p. 35). Mentions of people’s family members dying of scarlet fever in the past, e.g. Polly’s mother (p. 37). 3. Alcohol: Sandy drinks some brandy after an injury (p. 40). Polly remembers her brother’s alcohol addiction—this is connected to his PTSD (p. 135). 4. On several occasions, the women of Hope House are called “witches” or “jezebels” because they don’t fit in (p. 79, 87, 121). 5. Romance: the girls greatly admire Stella, and Polly calls this a “pash” (p. 67)—it is not actually romantic. Polly asks Catherine “he hasn’t tried to have his way with you, has he?” she doesn’t know what this means (p. 11). Polly thinks that Stella could possibly be in love with Edith (p. 205), which surprises her because she didn’t think girls could fall in love with each other. There is nothing to confirm her suspicions.