This Is a story of lost opportunity, misunderstanding, the destruction of a village for progress and Abraham Lincoln's ancestry.

I found this to be a nice read with well developed characters and some history thrown in. The story was a little slow at times but not enough to spoil things.

A very unusual story that I had a hard time getting into. I enjoyed parts of it while other parts just puzzled me.
The pacing of the story is quite slow.
The historical aspect of the story was intriguing. Just to think about people being moved from their homes to build a water reservoir was interesting as well as sad.
All in all, this was a very unique story. I’m sure others may really like The Drowned Village. I would like to reread it in the future and see if my opinion changes.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Review of "The drowned village" - how a village in Wales disappeared under water when a reservoir was created and in this novel as a backdrop of a love story

"As he reaches the top of the familiar hill, a startling brightness draws him in like a vision. A glittering lake fills the entire valley. The pretty stone village, and all trace of the girl he loved, are gone…"

An American navy officer and a girl from Wales fell in love during WW2. Many, many years later the American, captain Al Locke comes back to the village. But it is gone and covered by a water reservoir.

In my country, The Netherlands, these kind of books are popular by readers of Libelle, a women's magazine. With a heroine, a woman a bit older looking for romance and handling a job. In this novel it is the owner of the bunkhouse near the lake.

Reading we get to know what happened to Al and Elin, why he came back and what he finds. That made me curious but the story itself is quite slow. It is a quiet read and not utterly interesting (for someone like me not reading "mum lit"). What interested me more is the true historical backdrop of the eviction of people from their homes to build a waterreservoir for Liverpool city. I went googling and found a lot of interesting extra material. And how this event caused Wales to rise and demand more independence. And how apologies were made.

When I was given a ARC copy by Netgalley the book was still called "the captain's wife". It is now more aptly named "the drowned village".
Pub Date 21 Feb 2022
3 stars out of 5



The info on Wikipedia about the village:


In 1960, a private bill sponsored by Liverpool City Council was brought before Parliament to develop a water reservoir in the Tryweryn Valley. The development would include the flooding of Capel Celyn. By obtaining authority via an Act of Parliament, Liverpool City Council would not require planning consent from the relevant Welsh local authorities and would also avoid a planning inquiry at Welsh level at which arguments against the proposal could be expressed. This, together with the fact that the village was one of the last Welsh-only speaking communities in the area,[2] ensured that the proposals became deeply controversial. Thirty-five out of thirty-six Welsh Members of Parliament (MPs) opposed the bill (the other did not vote), but in 1962 it was passed. The members of the community waged an eight-year effort, ultimately unsuccessful, to prevent the destruction of their homes.

When the valley was flooded in 1965, the village and its buildings, including the post office, the school, and a chapel with cemetery, were all lost. Twelve houses and farms were submerged, and 48 people of the 67 who lived in the valley lost their homes.[3] In all, some 800 acres (3.2 km2; 320 ha) of land were submerged. A new reservoir, Llyn Celyn, was formed.

The Drowned Village is set in Wales and follows the love story that never was. Al & Ellin had their future mapped out but their map was destroyed.
This is an interesting novel, not as predictable as one might think. It was an enjoyable read.

Thank you Netgalley and Bookouture for an eARC for an honest review.

A heartbreaking story of a lost love, and if you're a reader looking for the "and they lived happily ever after" ending, this is not a story for you.

The main story follows Al Locke, an American soldier is stationed in North Wales, where he meets and falls head over heels with Elin Jenkins, a native of the area and a nurse. He is also interested in the history of Abe's family tree and was trying to trace these roots as they are connected to his own, and learns of a possible gravesite through Elin.

However, due to miscommunications and events that take place, their relationship ends tragically, with heartaches on both sides in more ways than one.

Many years later, Al returns to pursue his search for ancestors, where he meets Sophie who believe his main reason for returning is to look for Elin, and begins this search through her own family roots.

I am a fan of romance stories, but I've always wanted to read a romance story where there was no "and they lived happily ever after" ending, and this gave me that. The ending, for me, was satisfactory. Not only because of the character's growth but also to show that there are many different loves and that sometimes you don't always get what you want. So thank you Norma Curtis, for giving this.

Have you ever wished you could have a ‘do-over’? How long would you be willing to wait?

Sixty-five years later, Al Locke from Pennsylvania finally gets a chance for a do-over. This 85 year old retired naval officer has arrived back in Cape Celyn, Northern Wales to beg forgiveness from his long lost love, his fiancee, Elin Jenkins. She’s the ‘one that got away’ and he needs to reconnect with her. He’s since married, but wants to end things properly between them and reconcile. Can you imagine the size of the lump in his throat when he arrives in the village to find it’s been swallowed up by the lake?! Seriously, there’s no sign of the village.

Still feeling sorry for him? What if I told you that he proposed to someone else and then sent Elin a wedding invitation with three handwritten words on the back? Hah! No, not “I love you,” but “No hard feelings.” He has to tell her why he never answered her telegrams and find out if she went on to have a happy life. You’ll have to read to discover if he finds her and if he should shoulder all the responsibility for what happened between them.

It’s such a unique plot! I don’t think I’ve read a book set in Wales nor had I learned about a Welshman who purportedly discovered America before Columbus nor that Lincoln had a Welsh ancestor. I learned a new Welch word, ‘hiraeth,’ meaning a heartfelt yearning for somewhere.

Curtis focuses on what it means to ‘lose touch’ and brings to light the many things in our lives that get covered over as time passes but which nevertheless leave a permanent legacy. You’ll get swept away by this heartbreaking story of lost love, forgiveness and family secrets.

Don’t forget to check out the author’s page for photos of the setting!

I was gifted this advance copy by Norma Curtis, Bookouture and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

What can I say, this book was amazing. I cried, I laughed, granted the main characters definitely had a communication problem and so much could have been avoided but it was very good nonetheless

It was a good book.
The title is confusing because its not about the captain's wife.
Lots going on leaving the reader confused.

The Captain’s Wife has an undertone of sadness. A marriage that didn’t occur, lovers separated, and a dream unrealized. I was intrigued with the premise of the book. A man returning to search for his former love after 60 years. The parts I liked the nest were all the references to Abraham Lincoln’s ancestry since that is one of my forte’s. The story illustrates the repercussions of acting rashly and impulsively. The story left me sad and somber.

Whilst I enjoyed the book I’m not sure I understood what the point of the story was. Maybe there wasn’t one, in which case it was rather confusing.

This book has a slow and steady pace, It was not really my cup of tea. It was really well written and had some heart wrenching moments within the story. Give it a try.

Forget The Notebook! It's all about The Captain's Wife. I read this entire book in two days, ignoring my own relationship ( sorry David) and devoting my time to the love of Elin Jenkins and Alan Locke. This beautifully unique tale will fill you with hope, then will suddenly break your heart into a million pieces. Without giving too much away, it is truly an emotional rollercoaster, so tissues at the ready! Norma Curtis, you have gained a new fan :)

The book moves at a leisurely pace developing characters and relationships in a novel the takes the reader back to simpler times and places.

With grateful thanks to netgalley for an early copy in return for an honest opinion.
Rather an intresting read that kept my attention from being to end good story line and great characters.

A beautiful and heartbreaking story about lost love, forgiveness and family secrets. I cannot wait to read more by this author. This author has now become a go-to author. To have a book that is well written as well as entertaining is a delight. Reading is about escaping your world and entering another one. I did that with this book.

This book is definitely a slow burner with a slow and steady pace, however I still enjoyed reading it. It was really well written and was almost lyrical at times with truly heartwrenching moments within the text which actually worked really well with the slow pacing of the narrative. An enjoyable read

The Captain's Wife by Norma Curtis.

A love story of Elin and Al , separated at a young age , remained in each other's heart and mind until Al comes back to find the love of his life. a Heart warming , lovely story.

“The Captain’s Wife” by Norma Curtis tells the story of Al Locke. Al, a member of the US Navy 65 years ago, returns to Wales in search for a the gravestone (and possible history) of one of Abraham Lincoln’s mother’s Welsh relatives. When Al had last been in Wales, he’d been shown a family member’s gravestone by Elin Jenkins, a woman who stole Al’s heart. Upon arriving in Wales, Al goes to the little village where Elin had lived and makes a discovery that breaks his heart.

This book starts off discussing Al being ready to embark on his trip and some of his past history with Elin. Then the story goes between the present and the past. The reader is introduced to new characters in Al’s adventure along with some he met 65 years ago. Through all of the book is the search - and hope - that Al can find the gravestone or some tangible information about Lincoln’s Welsh roots.

Let me start by saying that reading about the Welsh museum I found rather fascinating. Yes, I ceased reading and consulted online sources to see if Madoc (long ago Welsh prince - not really part of the story!) really did have a plaque in Alabama (it’s been removed) and what history was behind the claims of a Welsh Prince discovering the land now known as North America … I was also surprised by how many US Presidents claim Welsh heritage (there are a number, including Abraham Lincoln). A nice little nod to Welsh heritage.

Our main character, Al, is now an 85 year old man and to see him still being healthy and sharp was very pleasant to read (my father at that age was not as nearly as spry as Al). Al also had that wonderful attitude of “okay, let’s do this” which I found refreshing to read about - as it didn’t seem that Al had a hidden agenda.

While I found Al’s basic storyline rather interesting (and a bit sad), I found one of the minor character’s stories a bit odd (outfoxing a scammer). I didn’t feel like I got to “know” too many of the other characters (even Elin) that well, though I was pleased to see the closure in Elin’s life, even if I didn’t agree with her actions (and concur with Sophie’s comment).

This book moved a titch slowly, but it was always a steady path forward (even when visiting the past, the story still moved forward filling in information). I would read another book by this author and I was engaged by this story.