The Children's Book

Olive Wellwood, a renowned writer, conducts an interview with her children gathered around her. For each child, she pens a unique private book, each bound in distinct colors and placed on a shelf. Their home near Romney Marsh is a whimsical storybook world, yet it conceals the mysteries of their lives and those of their affluent cousins, children of a city stockbroker, along with friends from the Victoria and Albert Museum. Each family harbors its own secrets. A young working-class boy from the potteries enters their lives, captivated by the Museum's treasures. Midsummer brings a German puppeteer, introducing dark narratives. Amidst the promise of the world, political tensions simmer, with debates on class and free love, and the idealism of anarchists from Russia and Germany. Sons rebel against parental expectations while daughters aspire to independence, dreaming of becoming doctors or fighting for the vote. This rich saga unfolds against the backdrop of a changing era, spanning from the Kent marshes to Paris, Munich, and the Somme trenches. As a generation born at the end of the Victorian era approaches the looming darkness of World War I, their innocence is unwittingly betrayed by the adults who care for them. In essence, this narrative serves as a profound children's book.