by Andrea Levy. This novel, set in London in 1948, tells the story of Queenie Bligh, her husband, Bernard, and her Jamaican lodgers, Gilbert Joseph and his wife Hortense. The four narrators reveal their hopes and dreams for a new life. They soon find, however, that the country is changing very slowly. Prejudice, the strength of the empire, love and war are themes which Levy explores as the characters soon come to terms with post-war England.