Letters to a Stranger
By: Sarah Mitchell
Publication Date: March 9, 2023
Published By: Bookouture
453 pages
Find It On: Amazon | Goodreads
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About The Book
England, 1940. Dearest Ruby, you must have heard the news by now. The very worst has happened. Our countries are at war. What can I do? How can I stop this nightmare from happening? One day soon we’ll be together again. I swear. I love you. E. x
Present day. Ruby Summers has lived an extraordinary life. Now, at ninety-six years old and living in a quiet countryside retirement home, Ruby may be an elderly lady, but her memory remains perfect.
She remembers the summer in rural Norfolk eighty years ago when she fell in love with Edmondo, and the stolen moments spent in the orchard dreaming of their future. But tears fill her green eyes when she also remembers the September morning they embraced as they listened to war being declared on the wireless. As her village turned against Edmondo and his Italian family, Ruby knew she would be forced to make an impossible choice – one that would lead to a betrayal her heart never recovered from, and an earth-shattering secret she has never shared…
But when lonely Ruby decides to take part in a letter-writing scheme for the elderly, and single mother Cassie replies, she realises this could be her chance. Her last chance. By revisiting her past, can she finally share the secret that has haunted her for all these years? And will her unexpected connection with Cassie unearth truths even Ruby never knew were hidden – or will it tear both their lives apart?
This totally gripping and irresistible story of wartime love and heartbreak will captivate readers who love Lorna Cook, Fiona Valpy and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.
My Review
This book absolutely amazed me. Both Cassie and Ruby are captivating characters, complex and likeable. Mitchell really surprised me with not only the parallels she drew between the two time periods, even though circumstances were vastly different, but also with how she brought so many layers to this story. The book is told entirely through letters, emails, diary entries, and text messages. It made it easy to read, easy to follow, and read quickly. I love books that don’t take the normal way to handle the prose, especially because it felt like it was one constant conversation. This book also taught me something new about WWII that I did not previously know, and that is the treatment of Italians in Great Britain. I love the idea of a pen pal, as I had one when I was much younger. This book has inspired me to maybe find a pen pal again! Brava to Mitchell for such a fantastic novel.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sarah Mitchell grew up in Norfolk and studied law at Cambridge University. She practised as a barrister in London for nearly 20 years before turning to writing. Sarah and her husband now live in beautiful North Norfolk with three almost-grown-up children, an extremely affectionate dog and a horse called Joey. Her debut novel, THE LOST LETTERS, was inspired by her parents’ experiences in the Second World War and her desire to explore the heart-breaking impact of the war on women and children. By contrast, THE COUPLE is a dark psychological thriller that twins themes of right and wrong with the age-old complication of an all-consuming past love. Her third novel, THE ENGLISH GIRL is a story inspired by an incredible true love story, a beautiful, sweeping tale of hope, courage and heart-breaking choices. Now, her fourth novel, LETTERS TO A STRANGER, explores themes of love, betrayal and redemption, through the eyes of young Ruby Summers who is forced to make an impossible decision when Italy joins the Second World War and her village turns against the love of her life.
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