Amanda Barratt – författare

2024 Christy Award WinnerA richly rendered portrait of courage, sacrifice, and resilience On a golden August morning in 1939, sisters Antonina and Helena Dąbrowska send their father off to defend Poland against the looming threat of German invasion. The next day, the first bombs fall on Warsaw, decimating their beloved city and shattering the world of their youth.When Antonina's beloved Marek is forced behind ghetto walls, along with the rest of Warsaw's Jewish population, Antonina knows she cannot stand by and soon becomes a key figure in a daring network of women risking their lives to shelter Jewish children. Meanwhile, Helena finds herself drawn into the ranks of Poland's secret army, joining the fight to free her homeland from occupation. But the secrets both are forced to keep threaten to tear them apart--and the cost of resistance may prove greater than either ever imagined.

A staggering love illuminating the dark corners of a Nazi prisonRenowned German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer is famous for his resistance to the Nazi regime and for his allegiance to God over government. But what few realize is that the last years of his life also held a love story that rivals any romance novel.Maria von Wedemeyer knows the realities of war. Her beloved father and brother have both been killed on the battlefield. The last thing this spirited young woman needs is to fall for a man under constant surveillance by the Gestapo. How can she give another piece of her heart to a man so likely to share the same final fate? Yet when Dietrich Bonhoeffer, an old family friend, comes to comfort the von Wedemeyers after their losses, she discovers that love isn''t always logical.Dietrich himself has determined to keep his distance from romantic attachments. There is too much work to be done for God, and his involvement in the conspiracy is far too important. But when he encounters a woman whose intelligence and conviction match his own, he''s unprepared for how easy it is to give away his heart.With their deep love comes risk--and neither Dietrich nor Maria is prepared for just how great that risk soon becomes.Based on detailed historical research, this true love story is at once beautiful and heartrending. My Dearest Dietrich sheds new light on a world-famous theologian . . . and the woman who changed his life.

Inspired by the incredible true story of a group of ordinary men and women who dared to stand against evilThe ideal of a new Germany swept up Sophie Scholl in a maelstrom of patriotic fervor--that is, until she realized the truth behind Hitler''s machinations for the fatherland. Now she and other students in Munich, the cradle of the Nazi government, have banded together to form a group to fight for the truth: the White Rose. Risking everything to print and distribute leaflets calling for Germans to rise up against the evil permeating their country, the White Rose treads a knife''s edge of discovery by the Gestapo.Annalise Brandt came to the University of Munich to study art, not get involved with conspiracy. The daughter of an SS officer, she''s been brought up to believe in the Führer''s divinely appointed leadership. But the more she comes to know Sophie and her friends, the more she questions the Nazi propaganda.Soon Annalise joins their double life--students by day, resisters by night. And as the stakes increase, they''re all forced to confront the deadly consequences meted out to any who dare to oppose the Reich.

A gripping testament to courage, The White Rose Resists illuminates the sacrifice and conviction of an unlikely group of revolutionaries who refused to remain silent-no matter the cost.

Inspirational Regency romance with a Christmas twist from three best-selling authorsIn Joy to the World, three popular authors come together to offer a heartwarming collection of holiday Regency romance. Based on lines from a beloved Christmas carol, these three novellas in one book have depth, faith, and satisfying stories all packed into the perfect length for readers to curl up and take a brief break from their holiday busyness."Heaven and Nature Sing" by Carolyn MillerTwo music lovers, deeply devoted to each other, were on the brink of engagement when family circumstances drove them apart. How can they ever overcome their obligations and fears to find their way back into each other''s arms?"Far as the Curse is Found" by Amanda BarrattOne winter night, a woman struggling to provide for her illegitimate child encounters a scarred veteran of the Napoleonic Wars on the streets of London. Can love conquer the darkness of two broken pasts?"Wonders of His Love" by Erica VetschA Scots portrait painter with a hidden identity finds work at a noble manor house over the holidays. He never imagined he''d fall in love with the emotionally frozen widow there. Now he wants nothing more than to thaw her heart.

"As superbly written as it is haunting in its truth." --Kate Breslin, best-selling author of For Such a TimeZosia Lewandowska knows the brutal realities of war all too well. Within weeks of Germany''s invasion of her Polish homeland, she lost the man she loves. As ghetto walls rise and the occupiers tighten their grip on the city of Krakow, Zosia joins pharmacist Tadeusz Pankiewicz and his staff in the heart of the Krakow ghetto as they risk their lives to aid the Jewish people trapped by Nazi oppression. Hania Silverman''s carefree girlhood is shattered as her family is forced into the ghetto. Struggling to survive in a world hemmed in by walls and rife with cruelty and despair, she encounters Zosia, her former neighbor, at the pharmacy. As deportation winnow the ghetto''s population and snatch those she holds dear, Hania''s natural resiliency is exhausted by reality. Zodia and Hania''s lives intertwine as they face the griefs and fears thrust upon them by war, until one day, they are forced to make a desperate choice . . . one that will inexorably bind them together, even as they are torn apart. Amanda Barratt''s meticulous research and lush, award-winning writing shine once again in this moving look at a group of unsung heroes who fought for hope and humanity in the most harrowing of times. "An unflinching tale that implores readers to stop and see, not a massive crowd of people, but individual hearts and souls. This book will linger in your heart and mind long after you''ve read the final page." --Amanda Cox, Christy Award-winning author of The Edge of Belonging

2024 Christy Award WinnerA richly rendered portrait of courage, sacrifice, and resilience On a golden August morning in 1939, sisters Antonina and Helena Dąbrowska send their father off to defend Poland against the looming threat of German invasion. The next day, the first bombs fall on Warsaw, decimating their beloved city and shattering the world of their youth.When Antonina''s beloved Marek is forced behind ghetto walls, along with the rest of Warsaw''s Jewish population, Antonina knows she cannot stand by and soon becomes a key figure in a daring network of women risking their lives to shelter Jewish children. Meanwhile, Helena finds herself drawn into the ranks of Poland''s secret army, joining the fight to free her homeland from occupation. But the secrets both are forced to keep threaten to tear them apart--and the cost of resistance may prove greater than either ever imagined.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer und Maria von Wedemeyer lernen sich kennen, als Adolf Hitler Deutschland und Europa in seinen Klauen hält. Ein Roman über den Kampf gegen das Böse und auch über den Kampf um die Liebe. Ein Liebesroman, zutiefst berührend und voller Hoffnung aus einer hoffnungslosen Zeit. Mit Auszügen aus den Originalbriefen von Dietrich an Maria.

Ein maskierter Graf. Eine junge Mutter in Not. Eine Liebe, die stärker ist als der Schmerz..England, Winter 1816. Dwight Inglewood, der junge Graf von Amberley, hat sich nach seiner Rückkehr aus dem Krieg auf seinen Landsitz zurückgezogen. Gezeichnet von den Narben der Schlacht von Waterloo, lebt er zurückgezogen von der Welt, sein Gesicht hinter einer Maske verborgen. Seine einzige Zuflucht: das Klavierspiel.In den dunklen Gassen Londons begegnet er Jenny Grey, einer mittellosen jungen Frau mit einem Baby auf dem Arm. Mutter und Kind sind am Ende ihrer Kräfte. Dwight nimmt sie bei sich auf – eine Entscheidung, die sein Leben verändern wird. Denn Jenny trägt selbst eine schmerzhafte Vergangenheit in sich, doch sie hat im Glauben an Gott Hoffnung gefunden. Zwischen den beiden wächst eine stille, tiefe Verbindung.Während Dwight sich selbst längst aufgegeben hat, beginnt Jenny, den Menschen hinter der Maske zu sehen. Ihre Wärme, ihr Glaube und ihre Liebe lassen die Eiskruste um sein Herz schmelzen. Und auch Dwight erkennt in Jenny eine Stärke, wie er sie selbst auf dem Schlachtfeld nie gesehen hat.Doch als ein dramatischer Vorfall Dwights neu gewonnene Hoffnung zu zerstören droht, steht er vor der Entscheidung seines Lebens: Wird er sich der Gnade öffnen – und Jenny sein wahres Gesicht zeigen?

Polen 1941. Die Polin Zosia Lewandowska kennt die Brutalitat des Krieges. Ihr Mann kam bei der Invasion der Deutschen ums Leben. Als sich die Situation verschlimmert und Nachbarn und Bekannte in Ghettos umgesiedelt werden, entscheidet sich Zosia, in der Apotheke von Tadeusz Pankiewicz zu arbeiten - mitten im Ghetto von Krakau. Gemeinsam mit Tadeusz und ihren Kollegen riskiert sie ihr Leben, um den Juden zu helfen, die unter der Unterdruckung der Nazis leiden. Amanda Barratt malt uns in grandioser Schreibkunst eine Geschichte vor Augen, die zu Herzen geht und noch lange nachklingt.

Weihnachten - die Zeit, in der wir uns nach Ruhe, Warme und ein paar stillen Momenten sehnen. Und doch sind gerade diese Wochen oft besonders voll und herausfordernd. Diese drei Novellen schenken deshalb kleine Auszeiten: kurze, beruhrende Reisen in die festliche Welt der Regency Ara, die sich wunderbar in ein paar Stunden genieen lassen. Inspiriert vom Lied Freue dich, Welt weben drei Autorinnen romantische, hoffnungsvolle Weihnachtsgeschichten voller Musik, Licht und Gefuhl. Melodie des Herzens von Carolyn MillerEdith und George verbindet die Musik - und eine langst verlorene Liebe. Als sie einander wiederbegegnen, stellt sich die Frage, ob sie Mut fassen konnen, ihre Pflichten loslassen und erneut zueinanderfinden Das Zepter der Barmherzigkeit von Amanda BarrattIn einer frostigen Winternacht begegnen sich Jenny, die um ihr Kind bangt, und Dwight, der vom Krieg gezeichnete Graf von Ameberly. Zwei verletzte Herzen, die einander unerwartet Hoffnung schenken. Wunder seiner Liebe von Erica VetschAls der schottische Maler Hamish auf Haverly Manor eine Auftragsarbeit erstellt, begegnet er der verwitweten Cilla - und verliebt sich in sie. Leider ist sie fur ihn jedoch unerreichbar.