Diana — R.F. Delderfield

From the New York Timesâ€"bestselling author of God is an Englishman comes the timeless story of a love that could not be denied, set in the countryside of early twentieth-century England.

Fifteen-year-old John Leigh is living with his aunt and uncle in a small Devon village when he meets the girl fated to change his life. From the moment he first sees Diana Gayelorde-Sutton astride a horse, looking as poised and regal as a queen, he falls irrevocably in love. But they are worlds apart: He is a poor Cockney orphan and she is the pampered only daughter of a powerful businessman.
 
They become inseparable, though, and friendship deepens into love. As the 1920s segue into the 1930s, John becomes a small-town newspaperman while Diana travels the world. Yet they always return to each other, until one earth-shattering day. And soon World War II will cast its long shadow over the world, testing their relationship in ways they never imagined. Diana is a stunning story of war and remembrance, love and redemption.