Alice Austen – författare

An unforgettable historical debut set in Second World War Brussels: exploring love, resistance and courage in all their forms‘I adored it … It finds courage and love amidst the ruins, and I read with my heart in my mouth’ Rachel Joyce‘A beautiful and deeply engaging novel' Ann Patchett‘A richly textured, finely written, deeply thoughtful novel’ William Boyd‘Historical fiction at its immersive, absorbing best’ Paula McLainCharlotte Sauvin has always seen the world differently. At home on 33 Place Brugmann, in the heart of Brussels, her father and her closest friends and neighbours – the Raphaëls from the fourth floor, and Masha from the fifth – have ensured her secret is safe. But when the Nazis invade Belgium, and Masha and the Raphaëls disappear, Charlotte must navigate her new world alone.Who can Charlotte trust in this world - where everyone is watching, and everyone is harbouring their own secrets? As the months pass, and the shadow of war darkens, Charlotte and her neighbours must face what – and who – truly matters to them most – and summon the courage to fight for more than just survival.With soaring imagination and profound intimacy, 33 Place Brugmann is a captivating and devastating celebration of the power of love, courage and art in times of great threat.

**The international bestseller**An unforgettable historical debut set in Second World War Brussels: exploring love, resistance and courage in all their forms‘I adored it … It finds courage and love amidst the ruins, and I read with my heart in my mouth’ Rachel Joyce‘Intimate and ambitious, lyrical and moving’ Observer'A beautiful and deeply engaging novel' Ann Patchett‘A richly textured, finely written, deeply thoughtful novel’ William Boyd___________________________________Charlotte Sauvin has always seen the world differently. At home on 33 Place Brugmann, in the heart of Brussels, her father and her closest friends and neighbours – the Raphaëls from the fourth floor, and Masha from the fifth – have ensured her secret is safe. But when the Nazis invade Belgium, and Masha and the Raphaëls disappear, Charlotte must navigate her new world alone.Over the border and across the sea, in occupied Paris and battered Blitz London, Masha and the Raphaels are reinventing themselves – as refugees, nurses, soldiers, heroes. Though scattered far and wide, they dream of only one place, one home: 33 Place Brugmann.But back at Place Brugmann, Charlotte feels impending danger closing in. Who can she trust in this world - where everyone is watching, and everyone is harbouring their own secrets? As the months pass, and the shadow of war darkens, Charlotte and her neighbours must face what – and who – truly matters to them most – and summon the courage to fight for more than just survival.With soaring imagination and profound intimacy, 33 Place Brugmann is a captivating and devastating celebration of the power of love, courage and art in times of great threat.

**The international bestseller**An unforgettable historical debut set in Second World War Brussels: exploring love, resistance and courage in all their forms‘I adored it … It finds courage and love amidst the ruins, and I read with my heart in my mouth’ Rachel Joyce‘Intimate and ambitious, lyrical and moving’ Observer'A beautiful and deeply engaging novel' Ann Patchett‘A richly textured, finely written, deeply thoughtful novel’ William Boyd___________________________________Charlotte Sauvin has always seen the world differently. At home on 33 Place Brugmann, in the heart of Brussels, her father and her closest friends and neighbours – the Raphaëls from the fourth floor, and Masha from the fifth – have ensured her secret is safe. But when the Nazis invade Belgium, and Masha and the Raphaëls disappear, Charlotte must navigate her new world alone.Over the border and across the sea, in occupied Paris and battered Blitz London, Masha and the Raphaels are reinventing themselves – as refugees, nurses, soldiers, heroes. Though scattered far and wide, they dream of only one place, one home: 33 Place Brugmann.But back at Place Brugmann, Charlotte feels impending danger closing in. Who can she trust in this world - where everyone is watching, and everyone is harbouring their own secrets? As the months pass, and the shadow of war darkens, Charlotte and her neighbours must face what – and who – truly matters to them most – and summon the courage to fight for more than just survival.With soaring imagination and profound intimacy, 33 Place Brugmann is a captivating and devastating celebration of the power of love, courage and art in times of great threat.

**The international bestseller**An unforgettable historical debut set in Second World War Brussels: exploring love, resistance and courage in all their forms''I adored it … It finds courage and love amidst the ruins, and I read with my heart in my mouth'' Rachel Joyce''Intimate and ambitious, lyrical and moving'' Observer''A beautiful and deeply engaging novel'' Ann Patchett''A richly textured, finely written, deeply thoughtful novel'' William Boyd___________________________________Charlotte Sauvin has always seen the world differently. At home on 33 Place Brugmann, in the heart of Brussels, her father and her closest friends and neighbours – the Raphaëls from the fourth floor, and Masha from the fifth – have ensured her secret is safe. But when the Nazis invade Belgium, and Masha and the Raphaëls disappear, Charlotte must navigate her new world alone. Over the border and across the sea, in occupied Paris and battered Blitz London, Masha and the Raphaels are reinventing themselves – as refugees, nurses, soldiers, heroes. Though scattered far and wide, they dream of only one place, one home: 33 Place Brugmann. But back at Place Brugmann, Charlotte feels impending danger closing in. Who can she trust in this world - where everyone is watching, and everyone is harbouring their own secrets? As the months pass, and the shadow of war darkens, Charlotte and her neighbours must face what – and who – truly matters to them most – and summon the courage to fight for more than just survival. With soaring imagination and profound intimacy, 33 Place Brugmann is a captivating and devastating celebration of the power of love, courage and art in times of great threat.

**The international bestseller**An unforgettable historical debut set in Second World War Brussels: exploring love, resistance and courage in all their forms''I adored it … It finds courage and love amidst the ruins, and I read with my heart in my mouth'' Rachel Joyce''Intimate and ambitious, lyrical and moving'' Observer''A beautiful and deeply engaging novel'' Ann Patchett''A richly textured, finely written, deeply thoughtful novel'' William Boyd___________________________________Charlotte Sauvin has always seen the world differently. At home on 33 Place Brugmann, in the heart of Brussels, her father and her closest friends and neighbours – the Raphaëls from the fourth floor, and Masha from the fifth – have ensured her secret is safe. But when the Nazis invade Belgium, and Masha and the Raphaëls disappear, Charlotte must navigate her new world alone. Over the border and across the sea, in occupied Paris and battered Blitz London, Masha and the Raphaels are reinventing themselves – as refugees, nurses, soldiers, heroes. Though scattered far and wide, they dream of only one place, one home: 33 Place Brugmann. But back at Place Brugmann, Charlotte feels impending danger closing in. Who can she trust in this world - where everyone is watching, and everyone is harbouring their own secrets? As the months pass, and the shadow of war darkens, Charlotte and her neighbours must face what – and who – truly matters to them most – and summon the courage to fight for more than just survival. With soaring imagination and profound intimacy, 33 Place Brugmann is a captivating and devastating celebration of the power of love, courage and art in times of great threat.

“Wonderful reading.” —Scott Turow, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Presumed Innocent An extraordinarily accomplished debut novel—a love story, mystery, and philosophical puzzle, told in the singular voices of the residents of a Beaux Arts apartment house in Belgium during World War II.On the eve of the Nazi occupation, in the heart of Brussels, life for the residents of eight apartments at 33 Place Brugmann is about to change forever. Charlotte Sauvin, an art student raised by her beloved architect father in apartment 4L, knows all the details of the building and its people: how light falls on gleaming wood and voices echo off marble, the distinct knock of her dear friend, Julian Raphaël, the eldest son of the art dealer’s family across the hall. Then the Raphaëls disappear, leaving behind everything but their invaluable art collection, which mysteriously vanishes. All that’s familiar fractures when whispers of German occupation become reality. A Nazi functionary moves into the building, and the residents’ lives become increasingly entwined. Charlotte’s godmother Masha, a beautiful seamstress upstairs, deepens her dangerous affair with a wartime compatriot of Colonel Warlemont in 3L—a man far more calculating than his neighbors believe. As relationships shift and new alliances form, the question of who to trust becomes a matter of life and death. In the face of their perilous new reality, every member of this accidental community will discover they are not the person they believed themself to be. When confronted with a cruel choice—submit to the regime or risk their lives to save one another—each learns the truth about what, and who, matters to them the most. A propulsive and hopeful tour de force, 33 Place Brugmann champions the restorative power of love, courage, and art in times of great threat.