The Jilted Countess
A Novel
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- Pre-Order
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- Expected Jan 13, 2026
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
“‘But who are we, if we forget everything that came before?’ Roza wonders in The Jilted Countess. This moving story of one woman finding a new life and new love in the aftermath of WWII answers this question, in the process taking on themes of PTSD, communism, and the plight of being an immigrant in postwar America.”—Meg Waite Clayton, internationally bestselling author of Typewriter Beach
In the aftermath of World War II, a young Hungarian émigré jilted by a G.I. persuades a Midwestern newspaper editor to help her find an American husband in this poignant novel, based on a true story, from the author of The French Winemaker’s Daughter.
The war stole Roza Meszaros’s dreams of becoming a ballerina and her aristocratic family’s fortune. But the penniless Hungarian countess’s fate takes a hopeful turn when she meets an American soldier named Joe, who promises to marry her and take her to the States. After two years of waiting to obtain the necessary money and paperwork to emigrate, Roza finally arrives in Minnesota—and discovers Joe has married someone else.
Determined to stay in America, Roza turns to popular newspaper columnist Cedric Adams to help her find a suitable husband. Sharing Roza’s story and her picture, Adams makes a special plea to his military readers. The response is overwhelming—nearly 1,800 World War II veterans bombard the paper’s offices with telegrams, flowers, candy, and cash, “a world-record” for marriage proposals, Adams tells Roza.
Like a 1948 version of The Bachelorette, Roza ultimately chooses Finn Erickson, a former soldier and railroad locomotive engineer. Putting aside her romantic ideals, she and her new husband settle into the small riverside town of Red Wing, Minnesota. But when Roza unexpectedly runs into her former fiancé, things quickly become complicated.
A captivating and unusual tale of love, loss, finding yourself, and creating your destiny, The Jilted Countess examines the meaning of marriage, the American dream, and what it takes to face our demons while searching for happiness.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Inspired by a true story, the engrossing latest from Ellsworth (The French Winemaker's Daughter) centers a Hungarian émigré left in the lurch by her American soldier fiancé in post-WWII Minnesota. Roza Mészáros, a countess and former ballerina, arrives in St. Paul from Vienna to be reunited with and marry her fiancé, Joe Harbeck. However, she soon discovers that in the two years they have been apart, Joe moved on and married someone else. Determined to stay in the U.S., Roza places an ad for a man who will marry her before her visa expires in a little over two weeks. Of the more than 1,700 proposals she receives, she chooses railroad engineer Finn Erickson, who hails from small-town Red Wing. However, the rocky start to their marriage is complicated by Roza's struggle to fit in with the other residents of Red Wing, and by Finn's frequent absences for his job. She's attracted to Finn, but she becomes conflicted when Joe arranges to meet her in Red Wing and expresses how unhappy he is in his own marriage. The author enriches the drama with frequent contrasts between war-torn Europe and the idyllic Midwest. Readers will find it easy to root for Ellsworth's strong-willed protagonist.
