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The Hidden Palace
- Author
- Dinah Jefferies
- Narrator
- Stephanie Racine
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Publish Date
- 22 November 2022
- Run Time
- 14 hours 15 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
A rebellious daughter
1925. Among the ancient honey-coloured walls of the tiny island of Malta, strangers slip into the shadows and anyone can buy a new name. Rosalie Delacroix flees Paris for a dancer’s job in the bohemian clubs deep in its winding streets.
A sister with a secret
1944. Running from the brutality of war in France, Florence Baudin faces a new life. But her estranged mother makes a desperate request: to find her vanished sister, who went missing years before.
A rift over generations
Betrayals and secrets, lies and silence hang between the sisters. A faded last letter from Rosalie is Florence’s only clue, the war an immovable barrier – and time is running out…
“Completely swept me away to another place and time. Dinah is the queen of sumptuous settings, transporting the reader effortlessly from chocolate-box Devonshire to the cabaret clubs of 1920s Paris and war-torn Malta. A marvellous, multi-layered story, populated with characters to really care for”—HAZEL GAYNOR
“Dinah Jefferies wields her storytelling magic on the island of Malta . . . It’s engrossing and sensual, full of the heat of the Mediterranean sun”—GILL PAUL
“Powerful, passionate and profoundly moving . . . this compelling mix of love and tragedy vibrates with warmth and pain, and captures the intense dislocation of war”—KATE FURNIVALL
“Sweeping and sumptuous with a gorgeously described sense of place. A marvellous adventure”—TRACY REES
Praise for Daughters of War“A wonderfully evocative and sensual writer”—SANTA MONTEFIORE
“A warm and engrossing tale of passion and courage. I loved it”—RACHEL HORE
“Love, grief, abandonment, betrayal and secrets … I adored it”—LIZ NUGENT
Critics Review
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More praise for Daughters of War
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‘A stirring, richly-imagined novel about bravery and love and family loyalty tested to its limits’ RACHEL RHYS
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‘As layers of long-hidden family secrets emerge, you are sure to be hooked to the very last page’ LIZ TRENOW
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‘Rich in courage, love and sacrifice, but chilling and taut in its portrayal of the horrors of war’ KATE FURNIVALL
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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‘Lushly descriptive, exciting and vivid, this is a warm and exciting tale that will pull you in and refuse to let you go’ TRACY REES
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A tender, moving and at times heartbreaking story’ SINEAD MORIARTY
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Dinah Jefferies
- Narrator
- Stephanie Racine
- Duration
- 14 hours 15 minutes
- Release Date
- 22 November 2022
- ISBN
- 9780008546328
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- HarperCollins Publishers
- Genre
- Historical fiction, Narrative theme: love / relationships, Narrative theme: sense of place, Family life fiction / Stories about family, Historical romance
Synopsis
An island of secrets. A runaway. And a promise… A rebellious daughter1925. Among the ancient honey-coloured walls of the tiny island of Malta, strangers slip into the shadows and anyone can buy a new name. Rosalie Delacroix flees Paris for a dancer’s job in the bohemian clubs deep in its winding streets. A sister with a secret1944. Running from the brutality of war in France, Florence Baudin faces a new life. But her estranged mother makes a desperate request: to find her vanished sister, who went missing years before. A rift over generationsBetrayals and secrets, lies and silence hang between the sisters. A faded last letter from Rosalie is Florence’s only clue, the war an immovable barrier – and time is running out… Praise for The Hidden Palace “Completely swept me away to another place and time. Dinah is the queen of sumptuous settings, transporting the reader effortlessly from chocolate-box Devonshire to the cabaret clubs of 1920s Paris and war-torn Malta. A marvellous, multi-layered story, populated with characters to really care for”—HAZEL GAYNOR “Dinah Jefferies wields her storytelling magic on the island of Malta . . . It’s engrossing and sensual, full of the heat of the Mediterranean sun”—GILL PAUL “Powerful, passionate and profoundly moving . . . this compelling mix of love and tragedy vibrates with warmth and pain, and captures the intense dislocation of war”—KATE FURNIVALL “Sweeping and sumptuous with a gorgeously described sense of place. A marvellous adventure”—TRACY REES Praise for Daughters of War “A wonderfully evocative and sensual writer”—SANTA MONTEFIORE “A warm and engrossing tale of passion and courage. I loved it”—RACHEL HORE “Love, grief, abandonment, betrayal and secrets … I adored it”—LIZ NUGENT
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