London 1958 and Berlin 1945 – a story of love and trust, of fear and betrayal, guilt and retribution.
THE DISCOVERY
by Mary Chamberlain
Oneworld UK, publication date TBD
(chez Mushens Entertainment – voir catalogue)
When Betty and John meet in London at a rally for nuclear disarmament, both are living with secrets about what that war did to them. After fleeing from Germany with her father in 1945, Betty lives with her memories of the Russian occupation, a young Russian officer, and the mysterious disappearance of her sister. John too, is plagued by flashbacks to his time as a translator for the top-secret T-force which uncovered Nazi scientific secrets, and to a young German woman who was brutally murdered, and for whose murder he was framed unless he talked… As their relationship develops, their lives unfold, unravel and entwine. But when a man from the past surfaces, he threatens to reveal secrets. Secrets which will embroil them in the Cold War and threaten their very existence.
Mary Chamberlain is a historian and novelist. Her debut novel The Dressmaker of Dachau was an international bestseller and sold to 19 countries. Her highly acclaimed second novel, The Hidden was a Sunday Times Must Read choice of 2019. She is the author of six non-fiction titles including Fenwomen: A Portrait of Women in an English Village, the first book published by Virago Press and the inspiration behind Caryl Churchill’s award-winning play, Fen.
Faiza has it all: a handsome husband, three beautiful children, and an idyllic lifestyle in Wimbledon Village. But then – in the middle of her first botox appointment – she gets a phone call from Tom telling her he’s lost his lucrative banking job. Her world starts to crumble. Tom thinks they will be fine – after all, they have their emergency savings to fall back on. Faiza knows better: she’s spent it. Desperate to avoid telling her husband or her friends that they are now penniless, Faiza decides to keep up appearances – and earn back the money before Tom has noticed its gone. In the process of trying to put it back, can she find the Faiza she used to be, before the trappings of her life overwhelmed her? And then, as one lie spirals into another, she starts to realise that she’s not the only one whose perfect life hides something much darker…
Paris, 1750. Madeleine, a young maid with a scarred face and a hidden past, goes to work for an automaton-maker, Dr Reinhart, and his clever daughter, Angelique. Only Madeleine knows the real reason she is there: there are rumours that Reinhart’s mechanical creations are the devil’s work, and she is in the employ of the police as a mouche, to spy on him and report back on his every move. Meanwhile, in the streets outside, children are quietly disappearing – and Madeleine fears for her young nephew. No one knows who can be responsible, but rumours abound around the clockmaker, and even the King of France himself… As Madeleine is drawn further into the household and its secrets, she comes to fear that she has stumbled upon an even greater conspiracy. One which might even reach to the heart of Versailles itself.
