Isabel MacFarland aka Emmeline “Emmy” Downtree

Isabel, most commonly known as Emmy, is the main character of the novel. When the novel opens, Isabel is preparing to be interviewed by Kendra, an American history student studying for a semester in Oxford. Her family is getting ready to celebrate Isabel’s ninety-third birthday even though in reality, as Emmy, she is only ninety. Isabel is being interviewed because she is a survivor of the Blitz on London during World War II.

When Emmy’s story opens, she was 15 with a dream of becoming a wedding gown designer. She had just gotten a job working at Primrose Bridal when Emmy was told by her mother that Emmy and her younger sister, Julia, had to evacuated to the country because it was feared the Nazis would begin bombing London. Even though she went to the country, Emmy continued to make plans to...