Super Short Summary

Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner is a historical fiction novel about two sisters, Emmeline and Julia Downtree, who are separated during the Blitz in wartime England. The story is intertwined with an interview in modern-day England between American Oxford student Kendra Van Zant and Blitz survivor Isabel MacFarland, who reveals her true identity and recounts her past, exploring themes of war's impact, personal ambition versus responsibility, and resilience. The novel includes themes of war, loss, and separation, with trauma, brief gory descriptions of dead bodies, references to pet euthanasia, and suicidal ideation.