The French House: The captivating Richard & Judy pick and heartbreaking wartime love story

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'A raw and honest love story, filled with a wealth of historical detail. The French House is a powerful depiction of the brutal intricacies of island relationships and loyalties in a time of war'

FIONA VALPY, bestselling author of The Dressmaker's Gift

'A story of fraught secrets and tested loyalties . . . I found this beautifully told tale hard to put down'

Anita Frank, author of The Return

Freedom worth fighting for. Love worth waiting for.

In Nazi-occupied Guernsey, the consequences of making the wrong decision can be deadly...

Left profoundly deaf after an accident, Emile is no stranger to isolation - or heartbreak. Now, as Nazi planes loom over Guernsey, he senses life is about to change forever.

Trapped in a tense, fearful marriage, Isabelle doesn't know what has become of Emile and the future she hoped for. But when she glimpses him from the window of the French House, their lives collide once more.

Leutnant Schreiber is more comfortable wielding a paintbrush than a pistol. But he has little choice in the role he is forced to play in the occupying forces - or in his own forbidden desires.

As their paths entwine, loyalties are blurred and dangerous secrets forged. But on an island under occupation, courage can have deadly consequences...

Lyrical, moving and compelling, this is a novel about wanting to hear and learning to listen - to the truths of our own hearts. Perfect for lovers of The Nightingale, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and All the Light We Cannot See.

'A brilliantly moving historical novel' - 2020 Caledonian Novel Award panel

Reviews

A brilliantly moving historical novel * 2020 Caledonian Novel Award *
A raw and honest love story, filled with a wealth of historical detail. The French House is a powerful depiction of the brutal intricacies of island relationships and loyalties in a time of war -- FIONA VALPY, bestselling author of THE DRESSMAKER'S SECRET
Deeply involving . . . A fantastic debut by a gifted storyteller -- JILL MANSELL, Sunday Times bestselling author
A story of fraught secrets and tested loyalties . . . I found this beautifully told tale hard to put down -- ANITA FRANK, author of The Return
Heart-wrenching . . . A truly special novel -- LOUISE FEIN, author of People Like Us
A vividly written, refreshingly different World War Two love story, with a central character I adored. Just brilliant! -- GILL PAUL, author of The Collector's Daughter
A wonderful story, powerfully written with beautiful characters -- JAMES KENT, director of Testament of Youth
In the way that the astonishing All the Light we Cannot See takes you into the world of a young blind girl during the occupation of France, so we are transported into the experiences of profoundly deaf Emile, during the occupation of Guernsey. The writing is lyrical, melancholy and breathtaking. Life under the Nazi jackboot is subtly explored, but the blistering love story between Emile and Isabelle leaves a longer lasting impression. Beautiful, utterly absorbing and memorable. -- Kate Thompson, author of THE LITTLE WARTIME LIBRARY
I was gripped from the start by the characters and the setting. A wonderful read -- Ruth Druart, author of WHILE PARIS SLEPT

Author Bio

Jacquie Bloese, an alumna of the Curtis Brown Creative course, has a strong personal connection with the subject matter of THE FRENCH HOUSE. She grew up on Guernsey, and is in love with both the island setting and its history. The character of Emile is loosely inspired by her great-grandfather, who suffered permanent hearing loss as a young man. Jacquie has worked as a publisher of English Language Teaching materials for a variety of publishers including Penguin Random House, Scholastic and Oxford University Press. The French House, which was commended in the 2020 Caledonian Novel Award as 'a brilliantly moving historical novel' and was a finalist in the 2019 Mslexia First Novel Award, is her debut novel.