An immensely satisfying, sweeping saga of cousins and their families from 1909-1946, set largely in Berlin and Yorkshire. It is one of those engrossing tales that never seems to let up on incident as we belt through four decades full of fascinating detail, skilfully written. A book to curl up with and lose yourself in.
June 1909, in a large Berlin mansion, cousins Zelda and Vicky are about to meet brothers Berthold and Josef for the first time – an evening that will alter the course of their lives forever…
Vicky Hudson is only seventeen when she marries Berthold and moves from her idyllic Yorkshire home to Berlin. She finds it hard to adjust to her new life, not least when she discovers that the family business she has just married into – Remer Steel – is producing weaponry for the German army. With the First World War looming, Vicky flees to Yorkshire with her children, leaving Berlin, and her husband, behind.
Striking dark-haired beauty Zelda Wallace is no stranger to marriage. Widowed at just twenty-one with a young son, she is eager to meld into Berlin's high society and sever all ties with her American identity in order to become a true Berliner. But beneath her exotic looks, Zelda holds a deeply hidden secret that if revealed, could threaten everything she holds dear…
Rebecca Dean's first historical novel, Enemies of the Heart, was inspired by her own German/British family history. Intrigued by the character of Edward Vlll, who makes an appearance in Palace Circle, Rebecca is currently writing a novel based on his early court life at Windsor when, as Prince of Wales, he was the most glittering icon of his times. Happily married, Rebecca Dean has five children, two small dogs and, though a Yorkshire girl born and bred, lives in London.
