The bright dawn of the twentieth century finds itself shadowed by the strictures of the Victorian Age. Women, whatever their status in society, are still women and are expected to conform to their well-defined role in life as a mother and wife. For the Bannister girls, daughters of a wealthy and respected family, this is not enough. But the Great War, with all its horrors and degradation, brings with it opportunities for the girls - the stolen lives of a whole generation of young men slowly erode the man-made barriers to equality and fulfilment. For Ellen, tempestuous and headstrong, the way is paved for her to join the suffragette movement; for young Angel, yet to discover her true self, the war creates challenges that harden her character, and nurtures a love that unleashes a dangerous passion; and for Louise, the eldest, bright but sensible the terrible conflict brings a tragedy that threatens to tear her life apart - until the prospect of a new romance promises a heartwarming regeneration of her soul... The Bannister Girls is a poignant novel of love and war, of the choices facing a young generation that will mould Britain's future in the new century...

Gracie Brown's dream is to become an acclaimed seamstress, but because of her background, she believes that success is an unattainable goal. Then, at an opening of the new Palais, she meets Charlie, a dashing saxophone player. Dancing in his arms, she begins to believe that dreams can come true. But a disastrous fire at the Palais breaks the spell and drives the couple apart. Gracie wonders if she will ever see Charlie again. But he is never to forget the girl he danced with at the Palais, and he pauses on his way to stardom to trace the girl he only knew briefly, but had loved from the first ...
This novel was first published in 2003. Jean Saunders (1932-2011), was born in London, but lived in the West Country for almost all of her life. She was married to Geoff Saunders, her childhood sweetheart, with whom she had three children. After the publication of her first novel, Jean began a career as a magazine writer and published around 600 short stories. She started to publish gothic romance novels under her married and maiden name in the 1970s. In the 1980s, she wrote historical romances under what would become her two most popular pseudonyms, Rowena Summers and Sally James. In 2004, she began to use the penname Rachel Moore. In 1991 Saunders's novel, The Bannister Girls, was shortlisted for the Romantic Novel of the Year award. She was elected the seventeenth Chairman (1993-1995) of the Romantic Novelists' Association, and she was Vice-Chairman of the Writers' Summer School of Swanwick. She was also a member of Romance Writers of America, the Crime Writers' Association and the West Country Writers' Association.