Longlisted for the Authors’s Club Best First Novel
“Mimi broke the silence. ‘Does anyone have a good war? Maybe some have a war that’s less bad than others. I have my dirty little secret too … And now I’m here. Why? Because I still don’t have the courage to deal with the consequences of my actions on my own. That’s a bad war.’ “
Silent Night tells the story of two very different love affairs; one, set amidst the terrible flight of the eastern Germans ahead of the invading Red Army, and the other, in occupied France.
In a small town in Northern France, a German woman arrives in search of a Frenchman, a prisoner of war, whom she loves. Earlier in the war, a young French woman, whose father is the Vichy mayor of the town, finds herself drawn to a Luftwaffe pilot billeted in their house. As the cauldron of war settles, their two stories come together, with both women finding that they must bury their past in order to live with the choices they have made for the future.
Charles Ellingworth’s haunting first novel evokes the powerful story of what happens to those left behind, the devastation of war and the resilience of the human spirit.
A rich and compelling novel that skilfully captures the trauma and chaos of war-torn Europe, Silent Night is a must for anyone who enjoyed Suite Française or Birdsong.
Published by Quartet Books on November 10th • 312pp • paperback • £12 978-0-7043-72-06-1
