Critiques en avant-premièreKate Kerrigan

From the best voices in historical fiction comes a gripping anthology about those left to pick up the pieces after the smoke of World War I has cleared. Featuring stories by internationally bestselling authors such as Hazel Gaynor, Beatriz Williams and Jennifer Robson, and edited by Heather Webb. The Great War has ravaged Europe, leaving devastated landscapes and scarred psyches in its wake. In spite of the peace treaty signed on November 11, 1918--Armistice Day--war still rages within. Men and women, those who fought and those who watched from the sidelines, pick up the pieces of their shattered lives: widows dream of revenge, nurses withhold their secrets, prisoners plan for escape, lovers reunite, and the product of violence brings an innocent war-child. The guns have stopped, but courage and resolve are still tested. In the deep silence of the ceasefire, peace does little to hinder the emotional battles still to come. Yet on the scorched battlefields, a fall of poppies brings hope.

Set in 1940s Los Angeles, the compelling final installment in New York Times bestselling author Ellie Hogan’s sweeping immigrant trilogy begun in Ellis Island and City of Hope—a story of family, love, danger, and ambition in Hollywood during World War II. Irish immigrant Ellie Hogan has finally achieved the American Dream. But her comfortable bohemian life on Fire Island, New York, is shattered when her eldest adopted son, Leo, runs away, lured by the promise of fortune and fame in Hollywood. Determined to keep her family intact, Ellie follows him west, uprooting her youngest son and long-time friend Bridie. In Los Angeles, Ellie creates a fashionable new home among the city’s celebrities, artists, and movie moguls. She is also drawn into intense new friendships, including talented film composer Stan, a man far different from any she has ever met, and Suri, a beautiful Japanese woman and kindred spirit, who opens Ellie’s eyes to the injustices of her country. While Leo is dazzled by Hollywood’s glitz, Ellie quickly sees that the golden glamour masks a world of vanity and greed. Though she tries to navigate them around the dangers of their new home, she will not be able protect them from an even more terrifying threat: war.

It is the 1930s and when her beloved husband, John, suddenly dies, young Ellie Hogan decides to leave Ireland and return to New York. She hopes that the city’s vibrancy will distract her from her grief. But the Depression has rendered the city unrecognisable – gone is the energy and party atmosphere that Ellie once fell in love with, ten years before. Ellie plunges headfirst into a new life pouring all her passion and energy into running a home and refuge for the homeless. In return they give her the kind of love, support and friendship she needs to try and overcome her grief. Until, one day, someone she thought she’d never see again steps through her door. It seems that even the Atlantic isn’t big enough to prevent the tragedies of the past catching up with her.

Ellie Hogan and her husband John were childhood sweethearts, destined to live together on his farm in Ireland. But when John, a soldier for the Irish Republican Army, becomes too injured to work, Ellie must take drastic measures in order for them to survive. Like many other young Irish women in the 1920s, she immigrates to New York City, to work as a maid for a wealthy socialite. In New York Ellie is introduced to a sophisticated lifestyle, including a charming suitor who can give her all she ever wanted. While her heart remains with her husband, Ellie is tempted by this glittering new world of fine clothes and parties, money and mansions. Soon she is faced with a monumental decision: to stay in a country full of hope and promise, or to return home to a life of poverty…and love.