The Winter Orphans
Coming September 13th, 2022 from Berkley/Penguin Random House
A poignant and ultimately triumphant novel based on the incredible true story of children who braved the formidable danger of guarded, wintry mountain passes in France to escape the Nazis, from the acclaimed author of Courage, My Love.
Southern France, 1942
In a remote corner of France, Jewish refugee Ella Rosenthal has finally found a safe haven. It has been three years since she and her little sister, Hanni, left their parents to flee Nazi Germany, and they have been pursued and adrift in the chaos of war ever since. Now, they shelter among one hundred other young refugees in a derelict castle overseen by the Swiss Red Cross.
Swiss volunteers Rösli Näf and Anne-Marie Piguet uphold a common mission: to protect children in peril. Rösli, a stubborn and resourceful nurse, directs the colony of Château de la Hille, and has created a thriving community against all odds. Anne-Marie, raised by Swiss foresters, becomes both caretaker and friend to the children, and she vows to do whatever is necessary to keep them safe.
However, when Germany invades southern France, safeguarding Jewish refugees becomes impossible. Château de la Hille faces unrelenting danger, and Rösli and Anne-Marie realize that the only way to protect the eldest of their charges is to smuggle them out of France. Relying on Rösli's fierce will and Anne-Marie's knowledge of secret mountain paths, they plot escape routes through vast Nazi-occupied territory to the distant border. Amid staggering risk, Ella and Hanni embark on a journey that, if successful, could change the course of their lives and grant them a future.
More info →Courage, My Love
COURAGE, MY LOVE, forthcoming from Berkley/Penguin Random House on April 13, 2021:
It's 1943 in Rome, and everything is about to change for Lucia Colombo and Francesca Gallo.
Despite being raised by her upper-class parents to revere Mussolini, Lucia has hidden her doubts about fascism for years. Yet as a single mother, she's struggling to put food on the table and raise her young son in an increasingly unstable country. Believing that politics are for other people, she focuses instead on daily survival. Then Mussolini falls and the German occupation begins -- and suddenly, Lucia finds that complacency is no longer an option.
Francesca’s life has always been marked by struggle. A polio survivor from a rural town, she came to Rome with her fiancé to start a new life. But as the German occupiers flood into the city, Francesca’s new life collapses, and she decides there is only one option in the face of oppression: to fight back.
As both Lucia and Francesca are pulled deeper into the struggle against the Nazis, they are drawn together, learning to be couriers, spies, and saboteurs. When winter sets in, the occupation tightens its grip on the city and the resistance is in constant danger. In the darkest days, Francesca and Lucia face their pasts, find the courage to love, and maintain hope for a future that is finally free.
More info →