The French Winemaker's Daughter

(Hardback, Large Print Edition)

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Set during World War II, an unforgettable historical novel about love, war, family, and loyalty told in in the voices of two women, generations apart, who find themselves connected by a mysterious and valuable bottle of wine stolen by the Nazis.

1942. Seven-year-old Martine hides in an armoire when the Nazis come to take her father away. Pinned to her dress is a note with her aunts address in Paris, and in her arms, a bottle of wine she has been instructed to look after if something happened to her papa. When they are finally gone, the terrified young girl drops the bottle and runs to a neighbor, who puts her on a train to Paris.

But when Martine arrives in the city, her aunt is nowhere to be found. Without a place to go, the girl wanders the streets and eventually falls asleep on the doorstep of Hotel Drouot, where Sister Ada finds her and takes her to the abbey, and watches over her.

1990. Charlotte, a commercial airline pilot, attends an auction with her boyfriend Henri at Hotel Drouot, now the oldest auction house in Paris. Successfully bidding on a box of wine saved from the German occupation during the Second World War, Henri gives Charlotte a seemingly inferior bottle he finds inside the box. Cleaning the label, Charlotte makes a shocking discovery that sends her on a quest to find the origins of this unusualand very valuablebottle of wine, a quest that will take her back fifty years into the past. . . .

A powerful tale of love, war, and family, The French Winemakers Daughter is an emotionally resonant tale of two women whose fates are intertwined across time. Loretta Ellsworths evocative and poignant page-turner will linger in the heart, and make you think about luck, connection, and the meaning of loyalty.

Author Bio

Loretta Ellsworth is the author of five novels for younger readers, Shrouding Woman, In Search of Mockingbird, In a Heartbeat, Unforgettable, and Tangle-Knot, and one adult historical novel, Stars Over Clear Lake. Her books have received many awards including Teen's Top Ten, Midwest Bookseller's Choice Award, Kirkus Critic's Pick, IRA Notable, BBCB Choice, Northeastern Minnesota Book Award, and the Charlotte Award.