Letter from a Stranger

SCaptivating and evocative, Letter from Istanbul will take you on an unforgettable journey from idyllic Connecticut to exotic Istanbul to war-torn Berlin then back to the present day.

When award-winning film maker Justine Nolan returns to her beautiful childhood home, she is intrigued by an envelope she finds in her absent mother’s post. But the letter inside contains a shocking revelation. If genuine, it will change everything she believes about her family’s recent history, her mother and her adored grandmother, Gabriele.

With the support of her beloved twin brother, Richard, Justine resolves to uncover the truth. To do so she must travel to Istanbul – the teeming, beguiling city on the cusp of East and West. It is a place which holds its own secrets, leading her to a fascinating man who appears to know more than he is prepared to disclose.

Yet even when her quest succeeds, Justine is faced with a further mystery: Gabriele’s background is not what it seems. Justine is given a book of memories in which the real story unfolds, taking her back to the darkest days of European history, with its suffering and astonishing acts of bravery. At the heart of it lie the final facts of Gabriele’s identity – and her own.

The letter from a stranger has brought her not only to the truth about her family but also a chance to heal the wounds of past betrayals, to embrace a new love and a new life.

Reviews

Praise for Barbara Taylor Bradford:

‘Another great yarn from the ultimate storyteller’ The Sun

‘As romantic and thrilling as the rest’ Independent on Sunday

‘The novel has that compulsive page-turning quality that marks out a bestseller as this one is bound to be’ Daily Express

'Queen of the genre' Sunday Times

‘Few novelists are as consummate as Barbara Taylor Bradford at keeping the reader turning the page. She is one of the world’s best at spinning yarns’ Guardian

‘Memorable and moving…a sure-fire winner’ Express

About the author

Barbara Taylor Bradford was born and raised in Leeds. She left school at 15 for the typing pool at the Yorkshire Evening Post.

At 16, she became a reporter on the paper and, at 18, its first Woman’s Editor. Aged 20, she moved to London and became a columnist and editor on Fleet Street.

Her first novel, A Woman of Substance, is one of the bestselling novels of all time and Barbara’s books have sold more than 90 million copies worldwide. In 2007, Barbara was appointed an OBE by the Queen for her services to literature.

Barbara was married to her beloved husband, television and film producer Robert Bradford, for 55 years until he died in 2019. She continued to live in New York and write novels, her last entitled The Wonder of It All, until she died in November 2024.