Authors Jean Elder and Reg Mitchell’s New Book, “Eastern Starlight, Volume 3, A British Girl's Memoir as the Wartime Wife of a U.S. Diplomat,” is Released

N. Bethesda, MD, April 30, 2024 --(PR.com)-- Set against the backdrop of Europe with World War II imminent, "Eastern Starlight, Volume 3, A British Girl’s Memoir as the Wartime Wife of a U.S. Diplomat," continues Jean’s China years into her married life as an integral part of her husband’s career representing America at the highest level of government in the great cities of pre-war Europe. We join Jean and her husband, U.S. Vice Consul Reginald Mitchell, as the newlywed couple depart Shanghai for their first post together, Warsaw, Poland, an armed camp surrounded by opposing armies and a haven for spies.

Jean draws us into the breathtaking but fiercely demanding world of diplomacy in Europe on the brink of war having to earn the friendships and respect of allies and enemies in a lifestyle that few of her peers would ever know at age 23. She shares with us her experiences engaging with Ambassadors and Ministers and their wives and Papal Emissaries at grand diplomatic soirées and equally important, as a diplomatic hostess having to plan and manage teas and tiffins and dinner parties at home. Protocol is a carryover from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and rules about formal attire, such as all but swords and medals (ABSAM) and stringent social etiquette, are followed to the letter. Posted to Dublin, Irish Free State, Jean, becomes friends with Sinéad O’Flanagan, wife of IFS President Éamon de Valera, who opposes Britain and intends to keep Ireland neutral in any future war with Nazi Germany.

Returning “home side,” Reg is assigned the newly created position of State Department Press Spokesman and White House Press Liaison. Through Jean’s eyes, we have a colorful close-up view of pre-war Washington, D.C., a city of lovely parks, Christmas lights along bustling downtown sidewalks, Beaux Arts theaters, and diplomatic soirées. Assigned to our Legation in Port-au-Prince following Pearl Harbor, the respect accorded her by Haiti’s mercurial President, Élie Lescot, is invaluable in gaining access to medical attention when Malaria strikes her family.

Based on her riveting wartime diary, Jean brings to life for the first time her incredible journey as a mother with two young sons aboard a Liberty ship in an armed convoy having to survive multiple German air attacks at night in the Mediterranean to join her husband at the U.S. Consulate, Port Sa’id, Egypt in 1944.

"Eastern Starlight, Volume 3, A British Girl’s Memoir as the Wartime Wife of a U.S. Diplomat" is about a remarkable woman of her era, not only because of the life she led, but the kind of person she was - her moral character and compassion, loyalty to family and friends, willingness to put others above herself, acceptance of people of all walks of life, and courage when in peril. This is a compelling story that will resonate with readers of all ages.

“Eastern Starlight, Volume 3, A British Girl’s Memoir as the Wartime Wife of a U.S. Diplomat," like Volumes 1 and 2, can be purchased in paperback or hardcover at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

Covenant Books is an international Christian-owned and operated publishing house based in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. Covenant Books specializes in all genres of work which appeal to both Christian and secular markets. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Covenant Books at 843-507-8373.

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