The Lavender Garden
La Côte d’Azur, 1998: In the sun-dappled south of France, Emilie de la Martinières, the last of her gilded line, inherits her childhood home, a magnificent château and vineyard. With the property comes a mountain of debt—and almost as many questions . . .
Paris, 1944: A bright, young British office clerk, Constance Carruthers, is sent undercover to Paris to be part of Churchill’s Special Operations Executive during the climax of the Nazi occupation. Separated from her contacts in the Resistance, she soon stumbles into the heart of a prominent family who regularly entertain elite members of the German military even as they plot to liberate France. But in a city rife with collaborators and rebels, Constance’s most difficult decision may be determining whom to trust with her heart.
As Emilie discovers what really happened to her family during the war and finds a connection to Constance much closer than she suspects, the château itself may provide the clues that unlock the mysteries of her past, present, and future. Here is a dazzling novel of intrigue and passion from one of the world’s most beloved storytellers.
Note to readers: In the UK, this book is published under the title The Light Behind the Window.
I was very much looking forward to reading this story, and what a wonderful story it was!!!The book opens in 1999, with Emilie at her mothers bedside as she passes away, with Emilie on the brink of inheriting the family estate and fortune. Overwhelmed by all the new decisions Emilie had to make, she runs into Sebastian, a man who has links to the family Château as he says his grandmother, Constance, stayed there during the conflict. As Emilie begins to sort out the family affairs, she begins to
1 Star - Just horrible TW; rape (I put it in one of the spoilers, but just in case someone wants to go through and read them all.)I bought this book at a library book sale. Id never heard of the book before, it wasnt on my radar, however the description on the back of the book sounded interesting so I spent the 50¢ and bought it. Ill boldly say its not even worth the half-dollar I paid for it. This one is classified as historical fiction and that it is. I have no qualms with that. However, thats
Started out a bit slow (and silly at times), but developed into an emotional novel that was very engrossing. The suspense was a little on the low side, since the answers to most of the mysteries in the book were quite obvious, but it is still an absorbing read with great characters you'll enjoy rooting for.
If I can't give a book an honest 3 stars, it hasn't worked for me. I don't rate them 1 or 2 because I personally think this gives people a false picture, but I do try and explain. So it was with this on. The Light Behind the Window was the kind of book I like. Two stories linked, two timescales, and a bit of war - in this case, WWII. The thing is, I read it very quickly, and it's not a short book, but it was sort of a couldn't-put-down book. The problem was that the reason I couldn't put it down
This book hit upon nearly all of the things I look for in escapism - old manor houses, the moors, mysterious identities, historical fiction. It was perfect for a rainy day after a long week. I was going to give this a 4-star rating because some of the writing is a bit sloppy and I wasn't thrilled with the plot. Emilie also was difficult to like. She was just so stupid!But then.In one of the last chapters, the main character admits that she can't have children, and sobs, "the one thing I believe
This book sounded so promising but it was rather disappointing and bland. The plot was okay, but very slow-moving at times and the ending was very predictable to me. My biggest issue was the unnecessary time the author spent on 'pleasant' conversations; i'm sure if someone checked which words were the most used one's in this book, 'thank you' would win. All the characters talk and interact with each other but in reality they're not saying anything. It felt like I read the same conversation over
Lucinda Riley
Paperback | Pages: 472 pages Rating: 4.16 | 14428 Users | 1201 Reviews
Declare Containing Books The Lavender Garden
Title | : | The Lavender Garden |
Author | : | Lucinda Riley |
Book Format | : | Paperback |
Book Edition | : | Special Edition |
Pages | : | Pages: 472 pages |
Published | : | June 11th 2013 by Atria Books (first published August 2012) |
Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction. Romance. Cultural. France. Mystery. War. World War II |
Chronicle During Books The Lavender Garden
An aristocratic French family, a legendary château, and buried secrets with the power to destroy two generations torn between duty and desire.La Côte d’Azur, 1998: In the sun-dappled south of France, Emilie de la Martinières, the last of her gilded line, inherits her childhood home, a magnificent château and vineyard. With the property comes a mountain of debt—and almost as many questions . . .
Paris, 1944: A bright, young British office clerk, Constance Carruthers, is sent undercover to Paris to be part of Churchill’s Special Operations Executive during the climax of the Nazi occupation. Separated from her contacts in the Resistance, she soon stumbles into the heart of a prominent family who regularly entertain elite members of the German military even as they plot to liberate France. But in a city rife with collaborators and rebels, Constance’s most difficult decision may be determining whom to trust with her heart.
As Emilie discovers what really happened to her family during the war and finds a connection to Constance much closer than she suspects, the château itself may provide the clues that unlock the mysteries of her past, present, and future. Here is a dazzling novel of intrigue and passion from one of the world’s most beloved storytellers.
Note to readers: In the UK, this book is published under the title The Light Behind the Window.
Mention Books Concering The Lavender Garden
Original Title: | The Light Behind the Window |
ISBN: | 1476703558 (ISBN13: 9781476703558) |
Edition Language: | English |
Characters: | Emilie de la Martinièrez, Sebastian Carruthers |
Setting: | Provence(France) London, England(United Kingdom) Paris(France) …more Yorkshire, England(United Kingdom) …less |
Rating Containing Books The Lavender Garden
Ratings: 4.16 From 14428 Users | 1201 ReviewsAssess Containing Books The Lavender Garden
I was very much looking forward to reading this story, and what a wonderful story it was!!!The book opens in 1999, with Emilie at her mothers bedside as she passes away, with Emilie on the brink of inheriting the family estate and fortune. Overwhelmed by all the new decisions Emilie had to make, she runs into Sebastian, a man who has links to the family Château as he says his grandmother, Constance, stayed there during the conflict. As Emilie begins to sort out the family affairs, she begins to
1 Star - Just horrible TW; rape (I put it in one of the spoilers, but just in case someone wants to go through and read them all.)I bought this book at a library book sale. Id never heard of the book before, it wasnt on my radar, however the description on the back of the book sounded interesting so I spent the 50¢ and bought it. Ill boldly say its not even worth the half-dollar I paid for it. This one is classified as historical fiction and that it is. I have no qualms with that. However, thats
Started out a bit slow (and silly at times), but developed into an emotional novel that was very engrossing. The suspense was a little on the low side, since the answers to most of the mysteries in the book were quite obvious, but it is still an absorbing read with great characters you'll enjoy rooting for.
If I can't give a book an honest 3 stars, it hasn't worked for me. I don't rate them 1 or 2 because I personally think this gives people a false picture, but I do try and explain. So it was with this on. The Light Behind the Window was the kind of book I like. Two stories linked, two timescales, and a bit of war - in this case, WWII. The thing is, I read it very quickly, and it's not a short book, but it was sort of a couldn't-put-down book. The problem was that the reason I couldn't put it down
This book hit upon nearly all of the things I look for in escapism - old manor houses, the moors, mysterious identities, historical fiction. It was perfect for a rainy day after a long week. I was going to give this a 4-star rating because some of the writing is a bit sloppy and I wasn't thrilled with the plot. Emilie also was difficult to like. She was just so stupid!But then.In one of the last chapters, the main character admits that she can't have children, and sobs, "the one thing I believe
This book sounded so promising but it was rather disappointing and bland. The plot was okay, but very slow-moving at times and the ending was very predictable to me. My biggest issue was the unnecessary time the author spent on 'pleasant' conversations; i'm sure if someone checked which words were the most used one's in this book, 'thank you' would win. All the characters talk and interact with each other but in reality they're not saying anything. It felt like I read the same conversation over
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