Letter from a Stranger
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- 4,99 €
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- 4,99 €
Publisher Description
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 England. She started her writing career on the Yorkshire Evening Post and later worked as a journalist in London. Her first novel, A Woman of Substance, became an enduring bestseller and was followed by many more, including the bestselling Cavendon series. Barbara’s books have sold more than eighty-one million copies worldwide in more than ninety countries and forty languages. In October of 2007, Barbara was appointed an OBE by the Queen for her services to literature.
To find out more and join the huge community of her fans, find Barbara on Facebook @BarbaraTaylorBradford, follow her on Twitter @BTBNovelist and sign up to her newsletter at www.barbarataylorbradford.co.uk.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bradford's latest (after Playing the Game) is a multigenerational tale set in Connecticut's exclusive Litchfield Hills, exotic Istanbul, uptown New York, and WWII Germany. Filmmaker Justine Nolan, 32, cuts a sympathetic figure despite being tall, blonde, and successful, because all she's ever wanted is to enjoy the loving family she was deprived of by the death of her father, her mother's manipulations, and the disappearance of her beloved grandmother, Gabriele. When Justine opens a letter stating that Gabriele is alive and well in Istanbul, Justine jets off to find her. She reconnects with Gabriele and meets Gabriele's lifelong friend, Anita, along with Anita's handsome and savvy grandson, Michael. At this point, Gabriele takes over as heroine, revealing her secret past through diary excerpts. Reading about Gabriele's trials in Nazi Germany, Justine discovers the extent of her mother's deceptions, the depth of her grandmother's suffering, and something about herself as well. In want or in luxury, Bradford characters live in style, from white clapboard houses in Connecticut to Turkish villas overlooking the Bosphorus. Gardens, food, clothing, and accessories everything in Bradford's world shows taste. If the plot turns simplistic at times, loyal fans will still tear up at the descriptions of enduring friendship and familial love.