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  • Published: 3 February 2015
  • ISBN: 9781101625552
  • Imprint: PEN US eBook Adult
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 416
Categories:

Secrets of a Charmed Life





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: 3 February 2015
  • ISBN: 9781101625552
  • Imprint: PEN US eBook Adult
  • Format: EBook
  • Pages: 416
Categories:

Also by Susan Meissner

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Praise for Secrets of a Charmed Life

Praise for A FALL OF MARIGOLDS:
"Messiner's first mainstream women's fiction novel hits all of the right emotional notes."--Booklist, Top 10 Women's Fiction for Last 12 Months

"A shimmering novel of love and acceptance." --Sandra Dallas, New York Times best-selling author of True Sisters

"A Fall of Marigolds is a transportive, heartwarming, and fascinating novel that will resonate with readers in search of emotionally satisfying stories connecting past and present, and demonstrating the healing power of love." --Erika Robuck, Author of Hemingway's Girl and Fallen Beauty

"Meissner has crafted a thoughtful story about lost loves and times past, illustrating how quickly disaster can take away what we hold most dear, and how ultimately we must move forward with hope in our hearts." Margaret Dilloway, Author of The Care and Handling of Roses With Thorns

"The author creates two sympathetic, relatable characters that readers will applaud." Kirkus Reviews

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