She solved a crossword at the breakfast table. Three weeks later, the War Office wrote back.
The Crossword Girl — a story of the silent hours, told in twelve letters. Written by hand and faithfully reproduced on aged paper, with keepsake artefacts you can hold, and a heroine history swore to silence. A From Then, With Love story. Made in England. Posted monthly.
£129 for the complete year - the first fifty places - free UK delivery
The story
In January 1942, Rose Tilney solves a newspaper crossword at her father's breakfast table in eleven and a half minutes. Three weeks later a letter on paper thick as card asks her to attend an address in London "on a matter which may be of interest to you".What follows is a love story, a war story and a secret, told entirely through the letters she sends to her sixteen-year-old sister Kitty, and to Ted, a sub-lieutenant somewhere on the grey Atlantic — letters in which the most important thing is always the thing she cannot say.You'll hold what they held: the half-solved crossword, the telegram, a letter returned undelivered, a censor-blacked postcard from a prison camp, and news of a landlady's black cat called Blackout. And in the last envelope, dated 1974, you'll read the letter she never sent.
What arrives, every month
• A letter from Rose, 700–900 words, written by hand and faithfully reproduced on period paper• A second piece in the same envelope — a postcard, a note, a prisoner-of-war form — to the other person in her life• One keepsake artefact that moves the story on: never decoration• Kitty's pencilled "received" date on the inner envelope, the way she kept them• Fifteen unhurried minutes with a cup of teaTwelve envelopes, one a month — and two more that arrive when you aren't expecting them.
The first envelope
The first envelope brings the keepsake folder that holds the year; a note from Ellie, who found the tin, written to you by name; Kitty's list of what was inside it; the crossword clipping; the War Office letter; Rose's first letter home, and the letter-card she wrote to Ted the same night.
For a gift
Choose "this is a gift" at checkout. We post a printed announcement card — to you to wrap, or to them for Christmas morning — and Rose's first letter arrives in the first week of January. Order by 15 December for a card in time for Christmas.
Founding Readers
The first fifty places are £129 for the complete year (£149 thereafter). Free UK delivery. One payment; nothing renews unless you ask for the next story.Our guarantee: thirty days, no questions. And if the story isn't for you after the third envelope, we refund the balance.
Who writes it
Written in England by Harriet Pennington, with every date, telegram and ration-book detail checked against the historical record. Rose and her family are fiction, placed carefully inside real history.
Questions
When does it start? Rose's first letter posts in the first week of January 2027 to everyone who orders by 15 December; later orders start in February. Gift cards go out within three working days.Is it a subscription? No. It's a complete twelve-letter story with an ending, paid once. Nothing renews.Are the letters really handwritten? Each letter is written by hand once, in period ink on period paper, then faithfully reproduced for every reader.Is it based on real history? Every public event, form and date is real. Rose, Kitty and Ted are fiction placed carefully inside it.Can I give it as a gift? Yes — it's built for it. Choose the gift option at checkout.What's in the first envelope? The folder, Ellie's note, Kitty's list, the crossword, the War Office letter, Rose's letter and her card to Ted.What if a letter goes astray? We replace it free, always.Do I need to solve the puzzles? Never. They're a hidden extra for those who enjoy them.Do you post outside the UK? Not yet. A bound edition of the whole story, which ships anywhere, is planned.
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