I found this to be a compelling read, the relationship between the two sisters especially so.
Growing up in England, Emily and Virginia (Ginny) have all the privileges of living at the big Holborn house. Their father is set to inherit the estate and the business, but his death puts paid to that. Their mother - half-French - is bullied into leaving by her brother-in-law who threatens to expose her secret. She takes the girls to France for a new life, but financially they soon struggle and have to take on much harder duties to earn enough money to pay the rent. Their mother swears it is necessary, and so long as the girls never marry they will all be fine.
The idea of never marrying, or even falling in love, is not easy for the girls to accept but they agree - for their mother's sake. Until, that is, love finds them.
When Emily meets her future husband, it is truly proof that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, because she isn't concerned with his looks but more with the kindness in his voice. The girls continue their relationships without telling their mother, and circumstances mean they are never quite in the right place when advertisements are posted asking them to get in touch. Their grandfather has died, and has named them in his will. Are their fortunes about to change? If only they can be found in time.

This is a well written story with many a twisting plot. At first, the story is slow to get going. There is a lot of background information to get them to where the real story begins - the search to find them and reveal their inheritance. The author creates some strong imagery, but at times I feel the plot is weighed down by descriptive detail - as beautiful as it may be.
The pace picks up as the search intensifies and missed opportunities thwart them at every turn. The silver crosses are a nice touch, a unifying element to allow for certain twists in the tale.
The progress of the war and its impact on their lives is fascinating - from the Spanish Civil War, the protests against the fascists and then the German invasion across Europe.
Great characters - both sisters are well-defined with unique personalities. Claud Everdale makes a great villain, and watch out for Bertha and Grace: they are both a joy to behold and incredibly annoying.

The ending comes all too quickly, and for me it is left hanging, even though it's not difficult to see what happens after the book ends - I just would have like more at the end and less at the beginning.

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot - the middle section is particularly good and kept me reading late into the night. I'd recommend it to those who enjoy historical women's fiction, peppered with romance and a good dose of intrigue.

I love a good historical fiction novel, especially when the world wars are involved, so this book was right up my alley.

And I must say, this book didn’t disappoint!

The history was woven well together–the book was bookended by the first and second world wars, but the majority took place during the peace, and then the beginning of Hitler’s reign in Germany. As a result, one of the main characters, Ginny, is heavily involved in politics, which I think is neat.

It’s worth noting that this book also includes some good portrayal of blindness–Emily is blind from birth, but she is not shown as helpless or dumb, which is important.

The book also includes mention of sexually transmitted diseases, which are treated as incredibly taboo and as “horrible sins”–which is not a great way to portray them, but it’s also accurate to how they were viewed in the time.

The romance in this book was well done, too. I enjoyed Charlie and Ken a rather lot. It also had a nice group of strong females (Agnes or Hortense or Ginny or Virginia or Babbecombe or I could go on and on?), I could go on.

Overall, I liked this book a lot–the characterization was well done, the setting was illustrated well, the plot was inventive, there was a good portrayal of blindness, politics, and being bilingual, women running companies, good husbands, it was great!

My two complaints would be the following: the book was very long, and while I love long books, this one could have accomplished its goals in less pages. I also wished that the silver crosses played more of a role than they did.

However, I still recommend this if you like a good historical piece!

I received this from netgalley.com in exchange for a review.

In 1926 the Holborn twins, Ginny and her blind sister Emily, disappear from their comfortable home in Wolverhampton. Why? No one knew. Ten years later, aspiring solicitor Charlie Commoner is dispatched to France to track them down.

A rather predictable story, an okay read. It dragged a bit and I did lose some interest.

3☆

A great read
Enriched with details
Two sisters, twins who were born entitled, flea with their mother to France. They grow up pour and living from one town to the next.
Half English, half French, they forget their English born family and make due with their mom. She moves them from one place to another because of a secret illness. One she doesn't bare to tell them. Now this had me guessing the entire book. I had to put my thinking cap on and go back in time. Think of an illness that you wouldn't want to tell anyone back in 1926. Right when Ginnie found out, it hit me.
Emily and Ginnie make promises to their mom that they couldn't keep. Watching them grow up was nice. Emily blind, Ginnie able to see. Like twins they had their own language. They matured in an era where war was coming.
They have their losses and love.

Originally published in 1982, Two Silver Crosses is a great piece of historical fiction. It's the story of 2 sisters who are sent by their mother from England to France in 1926 to basically disappear.
Several years later, the sisters are summoned back to England for the reading of their grandfather's will. They inherit a munitions factory. As the years loom near WWII, there are many secrets surrounding the sisters and their mother. The story moves at a good pace with just the right amount of drama and mystery. It's well written and researched. There are many secrets and motives to reveal as the story unfolds. The sisters are sympathetic and likeable. Their mother is flawed and intriguing and secretive. All of these personalities work well together for the overall picture. This is a very good read. I recommend for anyone who enjoys historical fiction of the 1920s-1940s. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars

This is a great story about twin sisters that is both tragic and heartwarming. In 1926, their panicked mother, blackmailed by her brother-in-law, leaves the palatial Holborn mansion and flee to France. There the girls are mostly forgotten by those in England. Some years later when the patriarch of the family passes away, the family lawyers seek to locate the girls per the grandfather's wishes.

Finally located, they return to England to take charge of their grandfather's business, a very successful and lucrative munitions factory. With war looming on the horizon, they must re-arm England. The avaricious and scheming uncle leaves the mansion in a huff, his plans for running the factory thwarted.

When the war with Germany actually begins, the girls are anxious to get their mother out of France. Charlie and Ginny undertake a perilous journey. Hortense finally unburdens herself of her bif secret in the confessional.

Good news reigns over Holborn.

This is a very well written and plotted story. It is a fascinating book full of love, pathos, loss, tragedy and the search for two “lost” young women. I really liked the relationship between the two sisters. Their mother not so much, but I understand her immense fear in light of the times in which they lived. Living with her husband at the end of his life must have terrified Hortense. And what a trial it must have been. The silver crosses didn't really figure into the story a great deal though. The book was predictable and the characters a little formulaic, but it was an enjoyable book nonetheless. I immediately went to Amazon to look at Beryl Kingston's other novels.

I want to thank NetGalley and Agora Books for forwarding to me a copy of this very good book for me to read, enjoy and review.