The Resistance Book Club

 We’re celebrating! It’s publication day for our latest novel, The Resistance Book Club! Available in ebook, paperback, and Kindle Unlimited. Audiobook out in November.

Every page is shared in secret… and a single book could cost a life.

France, 1941. Margot locks her bookshop door and slips into the cellar, where a circle of brave women gather by candlelight to read the books the Germans are burning. They are risking everything to share forbidden stories and fight back. But one seat is empty… Esther is missing, and as a Jewish woman, she is in terrible danger. Whatever happens, Margot has promised to take care of Esther’s baby, darling Isabelle…

Present day. Lucy gasps as she descends into the cellar beneath the bookshop she has inherited from her grandmother. Wooden chairs are arranged in a circle, as if the resistance book club members have just vanished. A candle sits on a saucer; a book lies open.

Still grieving her grandmother, Lucy was left a letter about the wartime book club hinting at a devastating secret. And one book is wrapped in yellowed newspaper, addressed in faded ink to a woman named Esther. Does it contain a clue about the fate of the tiny baby hidden by the book club? What really happened on that dark night when one of its members taken by the Nazis?

And as she uncovers the bookshop’s past, will the truth force Lucy to rethink everything she thought she knew about her own family?

Did you know…?

Cordeval isn’t a real village, but is based on the many communities along the Normandy coast who lived through the hardships of the Occupation, only to be in the firing line come D-Day. The Liste Otto was a list of books banned by the Nazi regime, which considered them anti-German. Thousands of books were officially condemned as undesirable and removed from French shelves. Whilst the Nazi book burnings didn’t take place in France, Lauterborn’s bonfire of the condemned books reflects the burnings held in Germany in the 1930s.

The tunnels that run beneath Cordeval are partly based on legends of smuggler’s tunnels hidden below many fishing villages. And they’re partly inspired by the tunnels dug into the chalk beneath the northern French town of Arras. After playing an important role during the Great War, the tunnels served as air-raid shelters during the Second World War. But, in 1945, they were closed up and forgotten for decades.

Queens That Changed the World

I'm thrilled to be making my US TV debut today in the second series of Queens That Changed the World! I'll be chatting all things Queen Charlotte on BBC Select and look out for me later in the series too, lifting the lid on Marie Antoinette and her mum, Empress Maria Theresa! The series will hit UK screens later this year.

The Resistance Book Club

 

The Resistance Book Club – pre-order our brand new novel now!

We’re so excited to reveal the gorgeous cover of our brand new novel, The Resistance Book Club!

Pre-order now! It’ll be published on 11th August in ebook, paperback, Kindle Unlimited and audiobook.

Every page is shared in secret… and a single book could cost a life.

France, 1941. Margot locks her bookshop door and slips into the cellar, where a circle of brave women gather by candlelight to read the books the Germans are burning. They are risking everything to share forbidden stories and fight back. But one seat is empty… Esther is missing, and as a Jewish woman, she is in terrible danger. Whatever happens, Margot has promised to take care of Esther’s baby, darling Isabelle…

Present day. Lucy gasps as she descends into the cellar beneath the bookshop she has inherited from her grandmother. Wooden chairs are arranged in a circle, as if the resistance book club members have just vanished. A candle sits on a saucer; a book lies open.

Still grieving her grandmother, Lucy was left a letter about the wartime book club hinting at a devastating secret. And one book is wrapped in yellowed newspaper, addressed in faded ink to a woman named Esther. Does it contain a clue about the fate of the tiny baby hidden by the book club? What really happened on that dark night when one of its members was taken by the Nazis?

And as she uncovers the bookshop’s past, will the truth force Lucy to rethink everything she thought she knew about her own family?

The Lifeboat Orphans - Out Now

 

It’s publication day for The Lifeboat Orphans, the next story from our Runaway Evacuees! Buy now in ebook, paperback, audiobook and Kindle Unlimited!

And it’s has amazing reviews!

‘Absolutely amazing! I loved this book from start to finish! Easy five star read!’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘What a heartbreaker! … I loved this.’ NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I sat and read this book in one day… an emotional read that I haven’t stopped thinking about.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Had me holding my breath.’ Leannebookstagram, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Amazing read! So many emotions… Tears of sadness followed by happiness… I couldn’t love this story more.’ NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘You can’t help but ache for the children… truly heart-pulling.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Such an emotional read. Get a box of tissues.’ Goodreads reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Captures and depicts WW2 London beautifully… Made me cry.’ NetGallley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐