📖 Blog Tour ~ The Hidden Palace by Dinah Jefferies

Harper Collins
25 August 2022

Daughters of War #2

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of the book
and to Random Things Tours for the invitation to the blog tour

A rebellious daughter

1923. Among the ancient honey-coloured walls of the tiny island of Malta, strangers slip into the shadows and anyone can buy a new name. Rosalie Delacroix flees Paris for a dancer’s job in the bohemian clubs deep in its winding streets.

A sister with a secret

1944. Running from the brutality of war in France, Florence Baudin faces a new life. But her estranged mother makes a desperate request: to find her vanished sister, who went missing years before.

A rift over generations

Betrayals and secrets, lies and silence hang between the sisters. A faded last letter from Rosalie is Florence’s only clue, the war an immovable barrier – and time is running out...

📖 My review..

It's 1944 and Florence Baudin and her friend Jack Jackson have escaped occupied France and arrive in the sleepy Devon village where Jack has a country cottage. Although the immediate danger of war is behind them for Florence's sisters, Hélène and Élise, who are still in France, the war is an ever present danger. When Florence plucks up the courage to visit her mother, Claudette, who is now also living in England, she is given the almost impossible task of tracing her mother's sister Rosalie who hasn't been see since she ran away from home in 1925.

 

What then follows is an intriguing dual time story which is told from the perspective of both Florence and Rosalie. Each have a fascinating story to tell, especially Rosalie whose life on the tiny island of Malta is filled with intrigue, passion and danger. Both time elements flow beautifully with neither one taking centre stage but allowing both Florence and Rosalie their time in the spotlight. I especially enjoyed the wonderful description of life on Malta, a tiny island whose inhabitants showed such bravery and whose winding streets were filled with so much intrigue. Throughout the story the author gets the balance perfectly pitched between family drama, dangers of war and the intrigues of the heart.

Whilst The Hidden Palace follows on from The Daughters of War, which is the first book in this series, it can be read enjoyably as a standalone story but for greater insight into Florence's relationship with her mother and sisters, and the way that Jack Jackson fits into the story, it would be interesting to read from the beginning. That there is to be another book in the series, released in 2023, is indeed good news for fans of this talented author's work. I look forward to picking up the story again in Night Train to Marrakech

📖 Best read with...Kafe Fit-tazza and a ricotta filled kannol

About the Author

Dinah Jefferies began her career with The Separation, followed by the number 1 Sunday Times and Richard and Judy bestseller The Tea-Planter’s Wife. Born in Malaysia, she moved to England at the age of nine. When she began writing novels, deeply influenced by her Eastern childhood, she was able to return there on annual research trips for each new novel.

With her most recent bestseller, her seventh novel The Tuscan Contessa, she has moved to writing about a European setting for the first time and continues that in this new series.

She is published in 28 languages and over 30 countries and has twice been a Richard and Judy bookclub pick.

Twitter @dinahjefferies #TheHiddenPalace

Website

@HarperCollins

@RandomTTours

Blog Tour Extract ~ The Missing Sister by Dinah Jefferies

Jaffareadstoo is thrilled to be part of the Blog Tour for The Missing Sister

Penguin Random House
 21 March 2019

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book and the invitation to be part of this blog tour

Belle Hatton has embarked upon an exciting new life far from home: a glamorous job as a nightclub singer in 1930s Burma, with a host of sophisticated new friends and admirers. But Belle is haunted by a mystery from the past - a 25 year old newspaper clipping found in her parents' belongings after their death, saying that the Hattons were leaving Rangoon after the disappearance of their baby daughter, Elvira.

Belle is desperate to find out what happened to the sister she never knew she had - but when she starts asking questions, she is confronted with unsettling rumours, malicious gossip, and outright threats. Oliver, an attractive, easy-going American journalist, promises to help her, but an anonymous note tells her not to trust those closest to her. . .

Belle survives riots, intruders, and bomb attacks - but nothing will stop her in her mission to uncover the truth. Can she trust her growing feelings for Oliver? Is her sister really dead? And could there be a chance Belle might find her?

✴ I'm really delighted to be able to share this tantalising extract with you ✴

Rangoon, Burma, 1936

Belle straightened her shoulders, flicked back her long red-gold hair and stared, her heart leaping with excitement as the ship began its steady approach to Rangoon harbour. Rangoon. Think of it. The city where dreams were made, still a mysterious outline in the distance but coming into focus as the ship cut through the water. The sky, a shockingly bright blue, seemed huger than a sky ever had business to be, and the sea, almost navy in its depths, reflected a molten surface so shiny she could almost see her face in it. Even the air shimmered as if the sun had formed minute swirling crystals from the moisture rising out of the sea. Small boats dotting the water dipped and rose and she laughed as screeching seabirds swooped and squabbled. Belle didn’t mind the noise, in fact it added to the feeling that this was something so achingly different. She had long craved the freedom to travel and now she was really doing it.

With buzzing in her ears, she inhaled deeply, as if to suck in every particle of this glorious moment, and for a few minutes she closed her eyes. When she opened them again she gasped in awe. It wasn’t the bustling harbour with its tall cranes, its freighters laden with teak, its lumbering oil tankers, its steamers and the small fishing boats gathering in the shadow of the larger vessels that had gripped her. Nor was it the impressive white colonial buildings coming into sight. For, rising behind all that, a huge golden edifice appeared to be floating over the city. Yes, floating, as if suspended, as if a section of some inconceivable paradise had descended to earth. Spellbound by the gold glittering against the cobalt sky, Belle couldn’t look away. Could there be anything more captivating? Without a shadow of a doubt, she knew she was going to fall in love with Burma.

The heat, however, was oppressive: not a dry heat but a kind of damp heat that clung to her clothes. Certainly different, but she’d get used to it, and the air that smelt of salt and burning and caught at the back of her throat. She heard her name being called and twisted sideways to see Gloria, the woman she’d met on the deck early in the voyage, now leaning against the rails, wearing a wide-brimmed pink sun hat. Belle began to turn away, but not before Gloria called out again. The woman raised a white gloved hand and came across.

‘So,’ Gloria’s cut-glass voice rang out, breaking Belle’s reverie. ‘What do you make of the Shwedagon Pagoda. Impressive, no?’

Belle nodded.

‘Covered in real gold,’ Gloria said. ‘Funny lot, the Burmese. The entire place is peppered with shrines and golden pagodas. You can’t walk without falling over a monk.’

‘I think they must be splendid to create something as wonderful as this.’

‘As I said, the pagodas are everywhere. Now, my driver is waiting at the dock. I’ll give you a lift to our wonderful Strand Hotel. It overlooks the river.’

Belle glanced at the skin around the other woman’s deeply set dark eyes and, not for the first time, tried to guess her age. There were a number of lines, but she had what was generally termed handsome looks. Striking rather than beautiful, with a strong Roman nose, chiselled cheekbones and sleek dark hair elegantly coiled at the nape of a long neck . . . but as for her age, it was anyone’s guess. Probably well over fifty.

Gloria had spoken with the air of someone who owned the city. A woman with a reputation to preserve and a face to match it. Belle wondered what she might look like without the thick mask of expertly applied make‑​up, carefully drawn brows and film-star lips. Wouldn’t it all melt in the heat?

‘I occasionally stay at the Strand after a late night, in fact I will be tonight, though naturally I have my own home in Golden Valley,’ Gloria was saying.

‘Golden Valley?’ Belle couldn’t keep her curiosity from showing.

‘Yes, do you know of it?’

Belle shook her head and, after a moment’s hesitation, decided not to say anything. It wasn’t as if she knew the place, was it? She simply wasn’t ready to talk to someone she barely knew. ‘No. Not at all,’ she said. ‘I simply liked the name.’

Gloria gave her a quizzical look and Belle, even though she had determined not to, caught herself thinking back. A year had passed since her father’s death, and it hadn’t gone well. The only work she’d found was in a friend’s bookshop, but each week she’d pored over the latest copy of The Stage the moment it arrived. And then, joy of joy, she’d spotted the advertisement for performers wanted in prestigious hotels in Singapore, Colombo and Rangoon. Her audition had been in London, where she’d stayed for a gruelling two days and an anxious wait until she heard.

About the Author

Dinah Jefferies was born in Malaysia and moved to England at the age of nine. Her idyllic childhood always held a special place in her imagination, and when she began writing novels in her 60s, she was able to return there - first in her fiction and then on annual research trips for each new novel. Dinah Jefferies is the author of four novels, The Separation, The Tea Planter's Wife - a Number One Sunday Times bestseller, The Silk Merchant's Daughter and Before the Rains. She lives in Gloucestershire.

Facebook

Twitter @DinahJefferies #TheMissingSister

@PenguinBooksUK

Publisher

Blog Tour - The Sapphire Widow by Dinah Jefferies

Jaffareadstoo is thrilled to be hosting today's stop on The Sapphire Widow Blog Tour

Penguin
5 April 2018

My thanks to the publishers for my copy of this book and the invitation to be part of the blog tour

What's it all about..

Ceylon, 1935. Louisa Reeve, the daughter of a successful British gem trader, and her husband Elliot, a charming, thrill-seeking businessman, seem like the couple who have it all. Except what they long for more than anything: a child.

While Louisa struggles with miscarriages, Elliot is increasingly absent, spending much of his time at a nearby cinnamon plantation, overlooking the Indian ocean. After his sudden death, Louisa is left alone to solve the mystery he left behind. Revisiting the plantation at Cinnamon Hills, she finds herself unexpectedly drawn towards the owner Leo, a rugged outdoors man with a chequered past. The plantation casts a spell, but all is not as it seems. And when Elliot's shocking betrayal is revealed, Louisa has only Leo to turn to...

My thoughts...

Louisa Reeve is the daughter of a wealthy gem trader in 1930s Ceylon and her marriage to the charismatic, Elliot should have ensured that her charmed life continued, but there are dark secrets within the marriage which seek threaten everything that’s precious in Louisa’s world. 

From the very start of the novel I was absorbed in the story. I loved reading of Louisa and Elliot’s life in the beautiful walled town of Galle and of their life amidst the great and the good of this close community. That they have social standing within this community is evident in the way Louisa comfortably goes about her life, and her relationship with Elliot is both tender and loving. When tragedy strikes, heartache seems set to follow Louisa, and she needs every ounce of her strength to get through the chaos left in its wake. 

There is no doubt that the author has a wonderful eye for detail and the glorious setting of Ceylon truly comes alive in the imagination. From the pungent scent of cinnamon and citronella, through to the salty tang of the Indian Ocean, I felt as if I had travelled every word of the story with Louisa, who was by far my favourite character, although the ruggedly handsome Leo is definitely in close second place.

There are some sensitive issues explored within the novel, infertility, infidelity, betrayal, bereavement and grief and the author has developed these painful themes with a delicate understanding so that the writing never becomes mawkishly sentimental, but which, as the story develops, goes on to show the strength and resilience of the human spirit. 

At its heart The Sapphire Widow is a wonderful story of love and devastating betrayal which sweeps the reader away from the mundane and into a faraway world of scent and spices. 

About the Author

Facebook

Twitter @DinahJefferies #TheSapphireWidow

@PenguinBooksUK

Amazon UK

Review ~ Before the Rains by Dinah Jefferies

Penguin - Viking
January 23rd 2017

What's it all about...

1930, Rajputana, India. Since her husband's death, 28-year-old photojournalist Eliza's only companion has been her camera. When the British Government send her to an Indian princely state to photograph the royal family, she's determined to make a name for herself.

But when Eliza arrives at the palace she meets Jay, the Prince's handsome, brooding brother. While Eliza awakens Jay to the poverty of his people, he awakens her to the injustices of British rule. Soon Jay and Eliza find they have more in common than they think. But their families - and society - think otherwise. Eventually they will have to make a choice between doing what's expected, or following their hearts and doing what's expected.

What did I think about it ...

When photo-journalist Eliza Fraser arrives back in India ostensibly to photograph life as it happens in an Indian palace, she is unprepared for the effect that returning to the India of her childhood will have on her adult life. Old memories are evoked and new awakenings come to the fore in this heart-warming tale of mystery, intrigue and romance.

The golden days of the British Raj in India are on the decline and there is unrest and distrust, not just amongst the local population, but also from those British officials who seek to cling on to rule regardless of the effect that this has on local people, whose established way of life is challenged at every level. Very soon, Eliza finds that she is at the centre of a conspiracy, which will, not just place her in great danger, but which will also take her life in a whole new direction.

The author's vision of 1930s India, with all of its mystique and colour comes alive in vibrant detail. The inside of the Maharajah's palace glitters and shines. Its opulence and faded glory is in direct contrast to life in rural districts where archaic customs still flourish in dark shadows. Throughout the story, Eliza's love affair with India is sympathetically told, and yet, it is in her burgeoning relationship with the Maharajah’s brother, Jayant Singh Rathore, where Before the Rains really starts to come alive. Beautifully evoking time and place, the story is filled with intriguing people. I loved the strong female characters, particularly Jayant’s mother, Laxmi who epitomised all of the grandeur and elegance of a fading empire, and of the delicate beauty of Indi who had secrets of her own.

Dinah Jefferies is fast becoming one of those authors who I know will never let me down, either by her story telling ability, or of my emotional connection to her beautifully written stories. 

Best Read With... A cup  Masala Chai and a spicy lentil fritter..

About the Author 

More about Dinah can be found on her website by clicking here

Or follow on Twitter @DinahJefferies

Visit on Facebook

You an read all about Dinah's research for Before the Rains by clicking here

My thanks to Josie at Penguin for my review copy of Before the Rains.

***

By coincidence my crochet work in progress perfectly matched the book cover

~***~

Blog Tour ~ Before the Rains by Dinah Jefferies

Jaffareadstoo is delighted to be part of the 

Before the Rains Blog Tour

 

It is with real pleasure that I welcome back best selling author Dinah Jefferies

Dinah and a very old Ox-cart at Shaphura Bagh farm
Photo by kind permission of the author.

Hi and welcome Dinah, ‘In your research for Before the Rains did you discover anything which surprised you about the country or its people.’

All of Rajasthan was a delight but Jaipur and Jodhpur were both very much on the tourist trail and I found that disappointing. Though most people were smiling and friendly, you had to watch your bag, count your change, and avoid the constant hassle of someone wanting you to eat in their restaurant or visit their shop. But off the main tourist trails in places like Chandelao Garh and Shaphura Bagh we met nothing but friendly open people living a life style little changed for a century or more (although with motorbikes and mobile phones thrown into the mix).

Dinah with local man in Shapura
Photo by kind permission of the author.

Little children would follow us around, villagers would smile and offer us chai, once we were even invited to sample opium tea! I declined. The hosts at both Chandelao Garh and Shahpura Bagh, though from noble or ‘royal’ families, were delightful and treated us like house guests, sitting with us as we poured over their family archives to help with my research. We were lucky that some of the local villagers, who worked for them, accompanied us round the villages and happily asked on our behalf if we could take photographs of some of the interesting characters we met. 

Dinah in Chandelao Village
Photo by kind permission of the author.

And in these more rural areas the wild life was astounding in its abundance. Away from the cities you felt you were in communities still as tightly knit into the land as they always had been. The Bishnoi villages in particular had round houses with conical thatched rooves and small walled yards. There, old men wearing exotic and colourful turbans sat just inside the doorways to shelter in the shade, but were still able to look out across the village as they chewed betel nut. 

Dinah with Bishnoi Villager near Chandelao Garh
Photo by kind permission of the author.

Women adorned with gold bangles and beautiful saris were preparing clay for the potter or mixing mortar for mud bricks, yet still they looked incredibly elegant and, though working at a hard and fast pace, their clothes remained spotless. Humming and singing seemed to accompany every group of workers. Out on the dry lands at the edge of the desert we met a lone ancient woman walking along a dirt track in a beautiful bright sari. We stopped and ‘talked’, each in our own language, neither understanding the other, but with smiles and gestures. The nearest huts or villages were many miles away yet she strode along the track in the midday heat of this desert country. 

Photo by kind permission of the author.

I suffer a lot from migraines and experienced a bad one at Shahpura Bagh. The ‘princess’ of the family was also a migraineur and she told me she knew the best neurologist in India - a friend who was a consultant in Delhi. ‘I’ll get you an appointment to see her,’ she said. Which she did. And the day before we caught the flight home I spent a morning in an absolutely teeming Indian hospital, the only non-Indian there. The neurologist was brilliant calling in another colleague who recommended I go to Queens Square in London to see the foremost world expert on migraine. I did and the good news is I am much better. So perhaps rather strangely that was the most surprising encounter I had while in Rajasthan.

Dinah's rooms at Shapura- Bagh
Photo by kind permission of the author.

Huge thanks to Dinah for sharing her wonderful trip to India with us and for allowing us a glimpse into just how seriously she takes her research. 

Penguin
23 February 2017

1930, Rajputana, India. Since her husband's death, 28-year-old photojournalist Eliza's only companion has been her camera. When the British Government send her to an Indian princely state to photograph the royal family, she's determined to make a name for herself.

But when Eliza arrives at the palace she meets Jay, the Prince's handsome, brooding brother. While Eliza awakens Jay to the poverty of his people, he awakens her to the injustices of British rule. Soon Jay and Eliza find they have more in common than they think. But their families - and society - think otherwise. Eventually they will have to make a choice between doing what's expected, or following their hearts.

More about Dinah can be found on her website by clicking here 

Or follow on Twitter @DinahJefferies

Visit on Facebook

Blog tour runs until the 8th March, so do visit the other stops for more exciting content and you can follow on Twitter using the hashtag  #BeforetheRains.

Big thanks also to Josie at Penguin for her invitation to be part of Before the Rains Blog Tour

~***~

Review ~ The Tea Planter's Wife by Dinah Jefferies.

Penguin Random House
August 2015

When nineteen year old Gwendolyn Hooper steps of the steam ship in Ceylon, she is excited to start married life with her handsome husband, Laurence. Life on the remote tea plantation is very different from her life in England, but Gwen is determined to make the most of her new life. Totally in love with Laurence, Gwen is puzzled when he appears to become secretive and distant and quite unlike the man she fell in love with, and added to the marital discord, is the appearance of Laurence's younger sister, Verity, whose bizarre possessiveness towards Laurence, makes it difficult for Gwen to be accepted as mistress of her own home.

Captivated and enthralled from the very start of the novel, I quickly became immersed in plantation life and saw that Gwen’s rather naïve outlook on life would make for compelling reading. Idealistic and filled with only kindness, Gwen tries to make sense of this rather archaic way of life and even though she doesn’t fully understand the running of the plantation, she is determined to make a difference. The story is beautifully written, with a true sense of time and place, and brings to life, not just the social history of Ceylon but also the fundamental changes which were happening towards the end of colonialism in the 1920s and 1930s. From the decadent house parties of the late 1920s, to the abject poverty of the plantation workers, I felt like I had stepped into Gwen’s shoes and experienced everything as she saw it. I wore her sumptuous flapper dresses with their beads and fripperies, and strolled with her and Laurence through the cool of the evening towards a lake where sparkled light glistened and danced.

The Tea Planter’s Wife is a story about contrasts, about what is right and proper, and of the great price paid by adhering to social and cultural expectations. It’s also about secrets and lies, of the huge burden of culpability and of the hidden dangers of deceit and overwhelming sadness. After reading this author’s previous book, The Separation, which I absolutely loved, I had misgivings that this one wouldn’t live up to expectations, but I am delighted to say that this book exceeded all my hopes. I was beguiled, immersed and completely overwhelmed by the power of the story and of my emotional connection to it.

A perfect accompaniment to a delicious cup of Ceylon tea, The Tea Planter's Wife is without doubt one of my reads of the year...

Amazon UK

About the Author

I am delighted to say that The Tea Planter's Wife has been picked as one of the Richard and Judy book club Autumn reads.

 My thanks to Celeste at Penguin Random House for my copy of this book and the 

to Kandula for the delicious Ceylon tea bags which accompanied the book.

~***~

  

My guest on the blog is the author Dinah Jefferies...

©Dinah Jefferies 

Dinah ~ welcome to Jaffareadstoo and thank you for sharing the joys of writing with us...

How did I become a published author, when initially I hadn't the faintest idea if I could write a novel at all? I knew nothing about the bricks and mortar of writing, I just knew I loved reading. At that stage even finishing a novel was an achievement. It’s funny, but when you’re unpublished and sending out submissions like confetti, getting that call when an agent says, ‘I loved your book and I want to represent you,’ is the only thing that seems to matter.

Instead of that, I received dozens of one liner rejections. Thanks but no thanks.

Teddy the Terrier

Having a great family helped to get over the disappointment, plus walking the dog for hours, while trying not to cry. Then I made a huge effort to learn, as well as trying to work out what hadn’t worked in my first novel. But it felt like wading through treacle and, because I was becoming more and more stuck, I sent my novel to a Literary Consultancy. They read it and wrote a report, so then at least I knew what was wrong, though I still had to figure out how to fix it.

A massive rewrite followed. When I submitted it again, one lovely agent said she thought I had potential and to please send her my next novel when it was written. At that stage I binned that first novel and began a new one. It was the best decision.

Fast forward another year and a half. My second book was ready. I sent it to just one agent, the woman who’d said I had potential. Six weeks later, while shopping and wondering if this novel was fated to go the way of the first, my mobile rang. My excited husband was saying that the agent had called, but she hadn’t said told him why. I didn’t want to call her back from the middle of a noisy street, so raced home hardly able to breathe.

When she said, ‘I loved your book and I want to represent you,’ I shrieked like a child of six. That was nearly the end of August and on September 20^th  The Separation, set in Malaysia, was bought by Penguin. It is now available all over the world and has been translated into six other languages. The Tea Planter’s Wife, set in Sri Lanka, will be published next year, and I’m already writing my third, set in Vietnam.

My life has changed. I’ve been on a book tour in Norway and have been to Vietnam and Sri Lanka for research. I still love spending time with the family, although I am ridiculously busy. Recently, I was publicising The Separation, editing The Tea Planter’s Wife, and researching book three all at the same time. My editor wants to publish a book a year, which is fabulous, but it’s a fantastically tight schedule, especially as the niche I've discovered requires considerable research.

 

Malaya                                                Hanoi

I write about slices of 20th Century history with all its intrigue and social upheaval and usually in exotic locations. I write about loss. I write about how hard it is to move on when the past won't let you go. I write about families torn apart. I sometimes have fun with a little dash of romantic love. But above all I write about the unbreakable bonds of love. That's the heart of my writing and it comes from the heart.

So what is it really like to be a writer? I think it’s the best job in the world and I feel fantastically lucky that my agent spotted potential in those early days. But all the old insecurities remain. Will they like it? Can I do it? The great thing is, once you’re published, you’re not on your own. You have an agent and an editor: both offer feedback and advice. That’s the best bit. It’s a phenomenal roller-coaster ride with wonderful ups, and equally awful downs, but knowing there is somebody you can turn to makes all the difference.

More about Dinah can be found on her website 

Twitter @DinahJefferies

A huge thank you to Dinah for telling us what's it's like to be a writer and for giving us such a fascinating insight into the background to her writing.

***

Dinah is kindly offering one lucky UK winner a copy of her book The Separation

a Rafflecopter giveaway