In its original form, this sweeping epic saga about the Spanish Civil War sold over 350,000 copies in its native Spain and it has now been beautifully translated into English; quite simply it is a Spanish Dr Zhivago. The discovery of an old folder of letters and the arrival of a stranger at the funeral of the incredibly wealthy and powerful Julio Carrión González throws the fate of the whole family into doubt. From the provincial heartlands of Spain to the battlefields of Russia, THE FROZEN HEART is a mesmerising journey through a war that tore families apart, pitted fathers against sons, brothers against brothers, wives against husbands. Against such a past, where do faith and loyalty lie?
A “piece of passion” on The Frozen Heart from the publisher… "There is a reason why Almudena Grandes’s novels go straight to number one and sell over 300,000 copies in her native Spain – in fact there are several! First of all, she is a virtuoso storyteller and knows just how to keep her readers expectations balanced on a knife-edge." Click here to read more...
In the small town of Torrelodones on the outskirts of Madrid, a funeral is taking place. Julio Carrion Gonzalez, a man of tremendous wealth and influence in Madrid, has come home to be buried. But as the family stand by the graveside, his son Alvaro notices the arrival of a stranger -- a young and attractive woman. No one appears to know who she is, or why she is there. Alvaro's questions only deepen when the family inherits an enormous amount of money that is a surprise even to them. In his father's study Alvaro discovers an old folder with letters sent to his father in Russia between 1941 and 1943, faded photos of people he never met and a locked grey metal box. The woman is Raquel Fernandez Perea, the daughter of Spaniards who fled during the Civil War. One episode in her past has marked her for ever -- the only time she saw her grandfather cry. Her fate, and that of the family, now hangs on the secrets of Julio's past.
Almudena Grandes is one of Spain's top-selling authors. Her first book, THE AGES OF LULU, sold over a million copies worldwide and was translated in 21 languages. Two of her books have been made into films and two more films have been contracted.
