Elizabeth Edmondson – författare

From the author of THE FROZEN LAKE comes an enthralling novel of love, betrayal and idealism, as three very different young women go up to Oxford in the years immediately before World War Two.Vee – the clergyman’s daughter. Boyish, alluring, she plans to use her time at Oxford to put right everything that went wrong in her loveless childhood. Her friendship with Alfred introduces her to politics and the subversive attractions of secret societies; it will lead to her career as a secret agent, but at what cost to old loyalties and her true feelings?Claudia, radiant, intense, aristocratic, is equally drawn to the secret society and one member in particular; his dazzling influence will see her travel to Berlin and come under the spell of Fascism as war looms.And Lally, glamorous daughter of an Irish-American senator, is sceptical of the society and the arguments from both sides. Her own choices will bring her into Vee’s new life, with all its dangers and betrayals. As the world becomes embroiled in the events of war, what price personal values, losses and loves?

Escapist and completely absorbing, The Villa in Italy is the perfect, mouth-watering summer read.Four very different people are named in a will. Delia, an opera singer robbed of her voice by illness; George, an idealistic scientist who cannot face what his skills have created; Marjorie, desperately poor and unable to dislodge her writer’s block; and Lucius, ostensibly in control but whose personal life is in chaos. All are summoned to the Villa Dante, home of the late Beatrice Malaspina. But who was she?While they wait to find out, the villa begins to work its seductive magic. With its faded frescoes, overgrown garden and magnificent mediaeval tower, it is unlike anywhere they have been before. Slowly, four characters who have gone to great lengths to hide their troubles find that change – and even hope – is possible after all. But the mysterious Beatrice has a devastating secret to reveal that will affect them all…A beautiful evocation of Italy in the aftermath of World War Two, the personal consequences of living through such a time, and a celebration of humankind’s ability to heal and learn to love again, this most absorbing novel will win Elizabeth Edmondson a host of new fans.

The French Riviera is the setting for this absorbing tale of family intrigue, scandal and romance, against the glamorous background of 1930s artists and aristocracy.Polly Smith is struggling to make a living as an artist when her friend and patron, Oliver, invites her to his father’s house in the South of France. Thrilled to escape cold, wet London, Polly asks for her birth certificate to get a passport. Her world changes. Her mother is in fact her aunt; her father is unknown; even her name isn’t right.Fleeing to the Riviera, Polly finds the serenity and sunshine bring her painting to life as never before. But all is not well in the grand house. Oliver’s father was forced to leave England in a cloud of scandal and despite the sophisticated, cosmopolitan crowd of friends with which he has surrounded himself, his past is about to catch up with him. Yet even though Polly will find herself at the centre of a web of deception, her own future begins to take on a new and fascinating shape…

Fabulous family saga of secrets held through two generations, set against the atmospheric background of the Lake District at ChristmasThe year of 1936 is drawing to a close. Winter grips Wetmoreland and causes a rare phenonmenon: the lakes freeze. For two local families, the Richardsons and the Grindleys, this will bring unexpected upheaval, as the frozen lake entices long-estranged siblings and children to return home for the holiday season.Some are aware of what is happening in Europe; others don’t want to know. Everyone’s keen to put aside their troubles – money worries, love tangles, career problems, domestic rifts – and enjoy themselves skating while they can. But one visitor carries the seed of violence and not even the redoubtable matriarch of the Richardson clan can prevent the carefully buried secrets of the past from reappearing and transforming everything.A compelling blend of family closeness and strife, dazzling passion and the dark influence of history, this is an enthralling read to curl up and savour.