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A dazzlingly inventive tale of troubled legacies, desire and unsung
power, inspired by The Scarlet Letter. Glasgow, 1829: Isobel, a
young seamstress, and her husband Edward set sail for New England,
in flight from his mounting debts and addictions. But, arriving in
Salem, Massachusetts, Edward soon takes off again, and Isobel finds
herself penniless and alone. Then she meets Nathaniel, a fledgling
writer, and the two are instantly drawn to each other: he is
haunted by his ancestors, who sent innocent women to the gallows
during the Salem witch trials - while she is an unusually gifted
needleworker, troubled by her own strange talents. Nathaniel and
Isobel grow ever closer. Together, they are dark storyteller and
muse; enchanter and enchanted. But which is which?
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Hester (Paperback)
Laurie Lico Albanese
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R545
R426
Discovery Miles 4 260
Save R119 (22%)
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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A dazzlingly inventive tale of troubled legacies, desire and unsung
power, inspired by The Scarlet Letter. Glasgow, 1829: Isobel, a
young seamstress, and her husband Edward set sail for New England,
in flight from his mounting debts and addictions. But, arriving in
Salem, Massachusetts, Edward soon takes off again, and Isobel finds
herself penniless and alone. Then she meets Nathaniel, a fledgling
writer, and the two are instantly drawn to each other: he is
haunted by his ancestors, who sent innocent women to the gallows
during the Salem witch trials - while she is an unusually gifted
needleworker, troubled by her own strange talents. Nathaniel and
Isobel grow ever closer. Together, they are dark storyteller and
muse; enchanter and enchanted. But which is which?
"A powerful and important tale of love and war, art and family...I
was transported." --Allison Pataki, New York Times bestselling
author "Albanese artfully weaves Adele's story with Maria's
harrowing life under the Nazis, but it's hard to read Stolen Beauty
without seeing ugly echoes in today's headlines. Seven decades
after World War II, have we learned nothing?" --USA TODAY From the
dawn of the twentieth century to the devastation of World War II,
this exhilarating novel of love, war, art, and family gives voice
to two extraordinary women and brings to life the true story behind
the creation and near destruction of Gustav Klimt's most remarkable
paintings. In the dazzling glitter of 1903 Vienna, Adele
Bloch-Bauer--young, beautiful, brilliant, and Jewish--meets painter
Gustav Klimt. Wealthy in everything but freedom, Adele embraces
Klimt's renegade genius as the two awaken to the erotic
possibilities on the canvas and beyond. Though they enjoy a life
where sex and art are just beginning to break through the facade of
conventional society, the city is also troubled by a disturbing
increase in anti-Semitism as political hatred simmers in the
shadows of Adele's coffeehouse afternoons and cultural salons.
Nearly forty years later, Adele's niece Maria Altmann is a newlywed
when the Nazis invade Austria--and overnight, her beloved Vienna
becomes a war zone. When her husband is arrested and her family is
forced out of their stately home, Maria must summon the courage and
resilience that is her aunt's legacy if she is to survive and keep
her loved ones--and their history--alive. Will Maria and her family
escape the grip of Nazi rule? And what will become of the paintings
for which her aunt sacrificed nearly everything? Impeccably
researched and a "must-read for fans of Kristin Hannah's The
Nightingale and Paula McLain's Circling the Sun" (Christina Baker
Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author), Stolen Beauty
juxtaposes passion and discovery against hatred and despair, and
shines a light on our ability to love, to destroy, and above all,
to endure.
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