The Light Behind The Window

Get in the xigxag app
This book is not purchasable in your country. Please select another book.
Pre-order Buy Now £{{ price }}
How does xigxag pricing work?

Listen to a sample

What to expect

From the author of the bestselling Seven Sisters series, Lucinda Riley's The Light Behind the Window crosses from World War Two to present day on a breathtaking and intense story of love, war and, above all, forgiveness.

Read by Miranda Raison (Lessons in Chemistry)

The present: Emilie de la Martiniéres has always fought against her aristocratic background but, after the death of her glamorous, distant mother, she finds herself alone in the world – and sole inheritor of her grand childhood home in the south of France. An old notebook of poems leads her in search of the mysterious and beautiful Sophia, whose tragic love affair changed the course of her family history. As Emilie unravels the story, she too embarks on her own journey of discovery, realizing that the château may provide clues to her own difficult past and finally unlock her future.

The past: London 1943. A young office clerk, Constance Carruthers, is drafted into a special operations team, arriving in occupied Paris during the climax of the conflict. Separated from her contact in her very first hours in France, she stumbles into the heart of a wealthy family who are caught up in a deadly game of secrets and lies. Forced to surrender her identity and all ties to her homeland and her beloved husband, Constance finds herself drawn into a complex web of deception, the repercussions of which will affect generations to come . . .

'A fast-paced, suspenseful story flitting between the present day and World War II . . . Brilliant escapism' – Red

This title has been published outside the UK under the title The Lavender Garden.

Critics Review

  • A sweeping, engrossing work. Riley is talented, delighting in the small details of aristocratic luxury and the pastoral countryside . . . The heroines of [The Light Behind the Window] struggle to master circumstances seemingly beyond their control, a common thread in Riley’s work. A tale of family secrets, wartime espionage, and loyalties gained and gambled, The Lavender Garden will appeal to fans of historical fiction, Kate Morton, and Helen Bryan

    Booklist

  • A fast-paced, suspenseful story flitting between the present day and World War II . . . Riley expertly weaves Emilie’s story into a dual narrative . . . A real old-fashioned romance which manages to have a compelling narrative as well as something of a history lesson in the Special Operations Executive. Brilliant escapism

    Red

  • Two superb storylines for the price of one here. In 1998 Emilie de la Martinieres inherits her grand South of France childhood home. She begins to uncover the past and finds a tiny room hidden in the wine cellar. Why has it been sealed for 50 years? As if that wasn’t enough, there’s also the part set in 1944. Constance Carruthers is sent to Paris as a spy, but loses her contact and falls in with an aristocratic family involved with the Resistance. Seriously, what could be more divine? Just sink in and wallow

    Kate Saunders, Saga

  • A beautifully written book that secures Riley’s authorial status and proves that her golden penmanship is no mere fluke . . . This is the perfect literary novel to move those readers who wish for something more fulfilling than chick-lit, yet just as entertaining, witty and heart-stopping. The language is dramatic yet truthful and Riley has such a delicate touch with mystery and intrigue that it’s difficult to predict where the plot is going . . . Riley’s descriptive nuances are so evocative a TV drama is bound to be imminent. A literal and literary page-turner

    WeLoveThisBook.co.uk

  • Yet again, I have been totally entertained by another great story that is well written with an intricate plot that is multi-layered but tied together so well . . . I became really emotionally attached to these characters . . . This novel really is a joy to read, expertly woven together and mixing social history with family dramas and love and relationships – the perfect blend

    RandomThingsThroughMyLetterbox.blogspot.co.uk

  • Riley brings us a cast of exquisitely drawn characters and as you slip effortlessly into their lives and share their hopes, dreams and fears, prepare to be intrigued, moved to tears . . . and ultimately uplifted

    Lancashire Evening Post, on The Butterfly Room

More from the same

Author

Narrator

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to get tailored content recommendations, product updates and info on new releases. Your data is your own: we commit to protect your data and respect your privacy.