The Glittering Hour
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4.8 • 5 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
*** The epic and long-awaited new romance from the author of Letters to the Lost, winner of the RNA Award ***
‘An epic story of joyous hedonism and desperate heartache. Just beautiful’ Catherine Isaac
'Stunning' Veronica Henry
'Gorgeously written ... I loved it' Jill Mansell
'An enchanting, evocative read' The Sun
1925. The war is over and a new generation is coming of age, keen to put the trauma of the previous one behind them.
Selina Lennox is a Bright Young Thing whose life is dedicated to the pursuit of pleasure; to parties and drinking and staying just the right side of scandal. Lawrence Weston is a struggling artist, desperate to escape the poverty of his upbringing and make something of himself. When their worlds collide one summer night, neither can resist the thrill of the forbidden, the lure of a love affair that they know cannot possibly last.
But there is a dark side to pleasure and a price to be paid for breaking the rules. By the end of that summer everything has changed.
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A decade later, nine year old Alice is staying at Blackwood Hall with her distant grandparents, piecing together clues from her mother’s letters to discover the secrets of the past, the truth about the present, and hope for the future.
'The perfect book to lose yourself in' heat
‘Vivid and heartbreakng’ Prima
'Prepare to be swept away on an all-encompassing journey of love, loss and discovery' Woman & Home
‘I absolutely adored this sweeping novel’ Good Housekeeping
'This has beautiful writing, compelling characters and an ending that made me cry' Red
‘A beautifully written read that will envelop you in its pages’ Fabulous
'Poignant and beautifully realised' Woman
'Emotionally fraught, evocative and redemptive, The Glittering Hour has been well worth the wait. What a superb novel - Iona Grey really is back with aplomb’ Fiona Mitchell
‘Poignant, beautiful and sad. A must read!’ Katrina Oliver
'Deeply captivating, engaging and so irresistible. I could not put it down!' Petra Quelch
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A nine-year-old child pieces together clues to her mother's wild past in this slow-building but dramatic historical tale of love lost and familial secrets uncovered from Grey (Letters to the Lost). In 1936 England, Alice Carew is sent to live with austere grandparents after her parents leave for Burma. Her only entertainment is her correspondence with her mother, Selina, who sends her clues to a treasure hunt that gradually reveals the story of Selina's life before Alice was born. In 1925, Selina Lennox was one of the "Bright Young People" whose outrageous behavior often featured in gossip columns. Though Selina's parents urged her to settle down with staid former soldier Rupert Carew, bohemian artist Lawrence Weston captured her heart. Told in a series of extended flashbacks, their romance is vividly drawn and heart-wrenching. Together, Alice and the reader come to understand that Alice's origins are not what they seem but that's not the only secret the family is keeping. The novel's final twist is a devastating blow that more than makes up for some plodding plotting during the buildup. This sweeping history is sure to be a tearjerker.
