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A dazzling, panoramic epic of love and survival set in late 19th century Paris in the vein of Hilary Mantel and Susanna Clarke from the award-winning author of THE TENDERNESS OF WOLVES and UNDER A POLE STAR. Immerse yourselves in Haussmann''s newly built, beautiful City of Light on a mesmerizing journey with a peerless storyteller. A diverse group of characters find themselves in Paris during the build up to the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Dreamer Anne is half Haitian, possessed of magical gifts but with a past she tries to bury; Laurence is desperate to spread his wings, develop his talents as a photographer and escape the restrictions of his Canadian upbringing; Ellis, an American army surgeon, has lived through the trauma of the American Civil War and will do anything to avoid another bloodbath. We join these characters as they live through and are buffeted by momentous historical events that will change them for ever. The Franco-Prussian War ended in a devastating defeat for the French after the Siege of Paris in which countless Parisians died of starvation and cold during a bitter winter. This terrible time was quickly followed by yet more bloodshed: the socialist revolution of the Paris Commune that seized government briefly until it was brutally crushed by the French Army. Against this backdrop our characters meet, struggle, grow, fight their demons, lose their hearts, find love. We witness the ebb and flow of history and the characters living through and buffeted by it. Yet although set in the past, the novel explores questions that are uniquely modern: issues of gender, sexuality, inequality and race. This eagerly awaited novel will delight Stef Penney''s legions of devoted fans.
