Secrets of a Charmed Life
  • Published: 15 January 2017
  • ISBN: 9780451419927
  • Imprint: Berkley
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 416
  • RRP: $35.00
Categories:

Secrets of a Charmed Life

Formats & editions
EBook
3 Feb 2015
Paperback
15 Jan 2017
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The author of The Last Year of the War journeys from the present day to World War II England, as two sisters are separated by the chaos of wartime....

The author of A Bridge Across the Ocean and The Last Year of the War journeys from the present day to World War II England, as two sisters are separated by the chaos of wartime...

Current day, Oxford, England. Young American scholar Kendra Van Zant, eager to pursue her vision of a perfect life, interviews Isabel McFarland just when the elderly woman is ready to give up secrets about the war that she has kept for decades...beginning with who she really is. What Kendra receives from Isabel is both a gift and a burden—one that will test her convictions and her heart.

1940s, England. As Hitler wages an unprecedented war against London’s civilian population, hundreds of thousands of children are evacuated to foster homes in the rural countryside. But even as fifteen-year-old Emmy Downtree and her much younger sister Julia find refuge in a charming Cotswold cottage, Emmy’s burning ambition to return to the city and apprentice with a fashion designer pits her against Julia’s profound need for her sister’s presence. Acting at cross purposes just as the Luftwaffe rains down its terrible destruction, the sisters are cruelly separated, and their lives are transformed...
  • Published: 15 January 2017
  • ISBN: 9780451419927
  • Imprint: Berkley
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 416
  • RRP: $35.00
Categories:

Also by Susan Meissner

A Map to Paradise
Only the Beautiful
The Last Year of the War
As Bright as Heaven
A Bridge Across the Ocean
Stars Over Sunset Boulevard
A Fall of Marigolds
See all

Praise for Secrets of a Charmed Life

Praise for Secrets of a Charmed Life

"Rich with vividly drawn characters, places, and events...Its themes of reinvention and redemption will strike a chord with readers."--Booklist

"Simply told, yet powerful in its depth...This vivid, well-researched story, depicting the horrors of the Blitz, the beauty of the countryside, and the heartbreak and loss of a loved one will remain in your mind long after it ends."--RT Book Reviews

"This story of choices and consequences takes readers on a heartrending journey through war-torn London, the quiet Cotswolds, and far-off America...[An] impressive and emotional novel."--Historical Novel Society

Praise for the novels of Susan Meissner

"A somber, gripping tale illuminated with hope."--Kate Quinn, author of The Alice Network

"A story of one family's heartbreak and hope. Strong [and] resilient, Meissner's characters step off the page and into history."--Lisa Wingate, New York Times bestselling author of Before We Were Yours

"With stunning prose and keen detail, Meissner has deftly created a heady mix of love, politics, and survival--a family saga, coming-of-age tale, and riveting historical fiction all in one. A must read!"--Pam Jenoff, author of The Orphan's Tale

"Author Susan Meissner, a former journalist and award-winning veteran novelist, knows how to spin an engrossing plot peopled by complex human beings...The Last Year of the War is timely and important today."--New York Journal of Books

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