The French Gift
Kirsty Manning
Reviewed by Helen
WOW what a fabulous story, this one had me turning the pages I wanted to get to then end, but I didn’t want it to end, I savoured every word, Kirsty Manning started with a thought about a faux murder at a social party and the story of a French Resistance Fighter and beautifully put a story together about strength, courage and the friendships that are made and kept, this is a must read story.
It is 1940 in Paris war is raging and the Germans are taking over, Josephine Murrant is a journalist and is doing what she can to help the resistance, when she is taken in by the gestapo, around the same time former maid Margot Bisset from The Riviera is charged with murder and they find themselves in the same prison cell, they form a close bond and are soon transferred to Germany to work in a labour factory at the notorious rayon factory. They share secrets and become the best of friends through the cruel and heartbreaking days spent there, time that will always link them.
Present day Paris and Evie Black is widowed and living with her teenage son Hugo, she owns a botanical bookshop and paints plants, when a surprising letter arrives from museum curator Clement Tazi asking about an exhibition that he would like to present about her husband’s late Great Aunt the famous thriller author and Resistance Fighter Josephine Murrant.
It is summer and visiting Villa Sanary on the Cote d’Azur, Josephine’s home and the place were Margot had worked will be the perfect meeting place for her and Clement Tazi to discuss the exhibition, but as they search all of her manuscripts and items of interest they discover secrets that have been kept for many years, it opens up the life of Josephine and her friend Margot and what they went through in Germany, the heartbreak and bleakness, but it shows the depth of courage shown by these woman and how they moved forward after the war.
The secrets and mystery that Evie and Clement uncover while putting together this exhibition will turn things upside down and decisions will have to be made about how they will present it all. MS Manning has bought to life characters on the pages of this story and easily taken me from the past to the present in a story that was so very hard to put down, truly I loved this one from page one and cannot highly recommend it enough, it is moving and emotional and just so fabulous, thank you MS Manning for a story that is sure to stay with me for a long time to come.
My thanks to Allen & Unwin AU for my copy to read and review
It is 1940 in Paris war is raging and the Germans are taking over, Josephine Murrant is a journalist and is doing what she can to help the resistance, when she is taken in by the gestapo, around the same time former maid Margot Bisset from The Riviera is charged with murder and they find themselves in the same prison cell, they form a close bond and are soon transferred to Germany to work in a labour factory at the notorious rayon factory. They share secrets and become the best of friends through the cruel and heartbreaking days spent there, time that will always link them.
Present day Paris and Evie Black is widowed and living with her teenage son Hugo, she owns a botanical bookshop and paints plants, when a surprising letter arrives from museum curator Clement Tazi asking about an exhibition that he would like to present about her husband’s late Great Aunt the famous thriller author and Resistance Fighter Josephine Murrant.
It is summer and visiting Villa Sanary on the Cote d’Azur, Josephine’s home and the place were Margot had worked will be the perfect meeting place for her and Clement Tazi to discuss the exhibition, but as they search all of her manuscripts and items of interest they discover secrets that have been kept for many years, it opens up the life of Josephine and her friend Margot and what they went through in Germany, the heartbreak and bleakness, but it shows the depth of courage shown by these woman and how they moved forward after the war.
The secrets and mystery that Evie and Clement uncover while putting together this exhibition will turn things upside down and decisions will have to be made about how they will present it all. MS Manning has bought to life characters on the pages of this story and easily taken me from the past to the present in a story that was so very hard to put down, truly I loved this one from page one and cannot highly recommend it enough, it is moving and emotional and just so fabulous, thank you MS Manning for a story that is sure to stay with me for a long time to come.
My thanks to Allen & Unwin AU for my copy to read and review
5 stars
Expected publication: March 30th 2021 by Allen and Unwin
