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Features

An exclusive short story from Caroline Lea

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Lightbulb Moments: Caroline Lea and Hope Adams

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Witches in 17th century Iceland: ‘They were almost exclusively men’

The beautiful and atmospheric story of freedom and love that will grip your heart

The Metal Heart

The beautifully compelling wartime story of freedom and love set deep in the Scottish islands 
 
'A powerful Second World War love story' THE TIMES 
 
'Deeply evocative of Orkney and its wild beauty. A stunning tale of sisters, salvation and sacrifice' EMMA STONEX 
_________ 
 
Orkney, 1941. 
 
Five hundred Italian prisoners of war arrive to fortify these wild and desolate islands. 
 
Orphaned sisters Dorothy and Constance volunteer to nurse the wounded. But while beautiful, damaged Constance remains wary of the men, Dot finds herself increasingly drawn to Cesare, a young man fighting on the wrong side and broken by the horrors of battle. Secretly, passionately, they fall in love. 
 
When a tragic mistake from Con's past returns to haunt them, Dot must make a choice: 
 
Protect her sister no matter the costs, or save the man who has captured her heart? 
_________ 
 
Praise for Caroline Lea: 
 
'Enthralling' Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars and The Foundling 
 
'Fantastic' The Times 
 
'Memorable and compelling' Sarah Moss, author of The Times Book of the Year Ghost Wall 
 
'Intensely written and atmospheric' Daily Mail 
 
'Gripped me in a cold fist. Beautiful' Sara Collins, author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton 
 
'Brilliant' Daily Express

A tense, passionate and deeply atmospheric novel about a community in wartime - and two defiant hearts. Orkney was so perfectly realised, too, that I almost felt windblown. I loved it all the more so for having read it during lockdown: Caroline's beautiful transported me entirely to another time and land

A powerful Second World War love story. As tensions grow between the Italian PoWs and the Orkney men, the scene is set for a dramatic reckoning. Lea writes beautifully of island life and love, and the sacrifices that both demand

Atmospheric, heart-wrenching, evocative - this is a gorgeously written story about the scars we carry with us, and how they can be overcome

Uses the true story of the building of the chapel on Orkney by Italian prisoners during the Second World War to fashion a fast-moving and very touching story of sisterly devotion and passionate love

A stunning novel . . . impeccably researched, gorgeously written, and deeply evocative of Orkney and its wild beauty. I loved this tale of sisters, salvation and sacrifice from the first page

Emma Stonex, bestselling author of The Lamplighters

Confirms Lea as a highly original and inventive writer

A story of innocents caught up in the machinery of war. Exquisitely researched, beautifully told, this tiny corner of Scotland came alive

Myth, legend, fear and superstition all play a part in this intensely atmospheric novel

A beautiful, heart-breaking tale of grief, love and the bond between sisters. I read it in a day, desperate to know what would happen

Lea deftly taps into an age-old theme: suspicion and mistrust of outsiders. Woven throughout The Metal Heart is the potent reminder that there are always innocents caught up in the cruel, unforgiving machinery of war

A stunning World War Two novel, unlike any other

The remoteness of the Orkney islands intensifies the hopes and fears of war. The Metal Heart is a story of passion and separation in which the isolation of twin sisters within a tight-knit community threatens tragedy. A deeply atmospheric novel of hope and redemption.

Draws you into a wild landscape through an exquisitely told love story

Superbly plotted . . . a story that comes together convincingly, complete with a wonderful double-twist in its final pages

Uses the true story of the building of the chapel on Orkney to fashion a touching story of sisterly devotion and passionate love

Hope Adams, author of Dangerous Women

A mesmerising and atmospheric read

Memorable and compelling. A novel about what haunts us - and what should

Sarah Moss, author of The Times Book of the Year 'Ghost Wall'

Stacey Halls, bestselling author of The Familiars

Intensely written and atmospheric, with an unusual setting, this is a stark evocation of a community where fear of the outsider is rife and unsettling

A perfect, gripping winter read. I loved it

Sophie Mackintosh, Man Booker longlisted author of 'The Water Cure'

Utterly unputdownable. Rich in superstition and mystery, it pulled me in. An incredible novel

Ali Land, author of Sunday Times Bestselling 'Good Me Bad Me'

Caroline Lea grew up on the island of Jersey. The Glass Woman, her debut, is a gothic thriller set during the Icelandic witch trials. The Metal Heart, a Waterstones Scottish Book of the Month, is an epic Second World War love story; Prize Women reveals a feminist scandal at the heart of the roaring 20s. Her latest novel reimagines Mary Shelley and the writing of Frankenstein.

Orkney, 1940. On a remote island, a prisoner-of-war camp is constructed to house five hundred Italian soldiers, where a freezing winter and divided community await them. 
 
 Orphaned sisters Dorothy and Constance volunteer to nurse the men. Dot is drawn to Cesare, a young man fighting on the wrong side, broken by war and destruction. 
 
 The soldiers spend their days building a secret barricade between the islands. By night, however, they construct a reminder of their native land - an exquisite chapel. 
 
 As tensions between the islanders and outsiders grow, the sisters' loyalty is tested. Will Dot choose love, or family?

The Glass Woman

1686, Iceland. A cold, windswept land where they talk of witches and fear strangers . . . 
 
'Gripped me in a cold fist. Beautiful' Sara Collins, author of The Confessions of Frannie Langton 
'A perfect, gripping winter read. I loved it' Sophie Mackintosh, author of The Water Cure 
________ 
 
When Rósa is betrothed to Jón Eiríksson, she is sent to a remote village. 
 
There she finds a man who refuses to speak of his recently deceased first wife, and villagers who view her with suspicion. 
 
Isolated and disturbed by her husband's strange behaviour, her fears deepen. 
 
What is making the strange sounds in the attic? 
 
Who does the mysterious glass figure she is given represent? 
 
And why do the villagers talk of the coming winter darkness in hushed tones? 
 
A mysterious and captivating tale of love, fear and superstition, perfect for readers of The Miniaturist, The Silent Companions, and The Bear &amp; The Nightingale. 
 
Venture to the wild, beautiful and spellbinding Orkney islands in THE METAL HEART, the compelling new story of freedom and love from Caroline Lea. 
________ 
 
'ENTHRALLING' Stacey Halls, author of The Familiars &amp; The Foundling 
 
'CRACKLES WITH TENSION. MOVING AND ATMOSPHERIC, I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN' Laura Purcell, author of The Silent Companions &amp; Bone China 
 
'MEMORABLE AND COMPELLING. A NOVEL ABOUT WHAT HAUNTS US - AND WHAT SHOULD' Sarah Moss, author ofGhost Wall 
 
'EVOCATIVE, COMPELLING, WITH A BRILLIANT TWIST' Daily Express 
 
'AN ICELANDIC JANE EYRE . . . COMPELLING, ATMOSPHERIC' Sunday Times 
 
'INTENSELY WRITTEN AND ATMOSPHERIC, WITH AN UNUSUAL SETTING' Daily Mail 
 
'A CHILLING TALE' Good Housekeeping 
 
'LIKE A GHOST STORY TOLD AROUND A WINTER FIRE Tim Leach, author of Smile of the Wolf 
 
SHORTLISTED FOR THE HISTORICAL WRITERS ASSOCIATION DEBUT AWARD

The eerie opening brilliantly sets the scene for a suspenseful read. A tremor cracks open an ice floe and an arm appears, plunging the reader into a harsh landscape and a world of suspicions and secrets

This evocative debut is compelling with a brilliant twist

An enthralling tale of the Icelandic witch trials

Stacey Halls, bestselling author of THE FAMILIARS

Crackles with tension. Moving and atmospheric, I couldn't put it down

Laura Purcell, author of THE SILENT COMPANIONS and THE CORSET

Gripped me in a cold fist. Beautiful

Sara Collins, author of THE CONFESSIONS OF FRANNIE LANGTON

A gothic novel for a cold climate. Mesmerising

Elly Griffiths, author of THE STRANGER DIARIES

Haunting, evocative and utterly compelling. The beautifully drawn narrative transports the reader to a time and place steeped in mystery and superstition, where nothing is ever quite as it seems. Stunning

Tracy Borman, author of 'The King's Witch'

Like a ghost story told around a winter fire, The Glass Woman is taut, haunting, and broodingly tense. Playing out against the harsh backdrop of the Icelandic winter, it kept me hooked all the way to the end

Tim Leach, author of The Times Book of the Year 'Smile of the Wolf'

Tremendous. Atmospheric and beautifully wrought, The Glass Woman is both chilling and beguiling

Is this some Icelandic version of Jane Eyre in which a madwoman lurks in the attic? Or do ghosts haunt the household? In a sense they do, although the truth Rosa eventually uncovers in this compelling, atmospheric novel are more material and more disturbing than her imaginings

Lea draws upon Jane Eyre, Rebecca and Bluebeard to create an eerie, unsettling atmosphere ... Full of promise, and I look forward to reading more from Lea

Suspenseful, gripping and beautifully drawn

Tells the tale of the Icelandic witch trials

A gorgeous book about the power of stories that makes the landscape of Iceland as powerful a character as any of the humans

A haunting novel that delivers chills. THE GLASS WOMAN is charged with the dark energy of the Icelandic Sagas

Mystery and potential danger linger throughout, and with its dreamy prose THE GLASS WOMAN satisfies readers with the ways of an old world

A chilling and enthralling telling of the Icelandic witch trials. Not only beautifully drawn but poignant, evocative and fascinating. A haunting gothic tale'

A rare look at male witch trials, set in Iceland

1686, Iceland. 
 
Betrothed unexpectedly to Jon Eriksson, Rosa travels to the isolated, windswept village of Stykkisholmur. Here, the villagers are suspicious of outsiders - especially one from the everdark edge of civilisation. 
 
But Rosa harbours her own suspicions. Her husband buried his first wife alone in the dead of night. 
 
He will not talk of it. Instead he gives her a small glass figurine. She does not know what it signifies. 
 
The villagers look on them both not only with suspicion - but dread. They whisper dark threats. There is an evil here - she can feel it. Alone and far from home, Rosa sees the darkness coming. She fears she will be its next victim . . .

Untitled Caroline Lea 2025

An absolutely gripping novel about the choices women face - and the choices they are denied

Gripped me in a cold fist. Beautiful

Crackles with tension. Moving and atmospheric, I could not put it down

Masterful. Caroline Lea is a superb storyteller

May 1816, Villa Diodati, Lake Geneva. 
 
Mary Shelley, eighteen-years-old, has fled London with her lover Percy Shelley and her pregnant, unwed sister, Claire. Mary is tormented by Shelley's infidelities, haunted by the loss of their baby daughter and suspicious of her sister's intensions. 
 
Geneva promises a new start. 
 
But far from being a refuge, the summer is freakishly cold and stormy, skies shrouded with volcanic ash, the villa enveloped in superstition. Mary finds herself trapped in an endless cycle - dark afternoons of spirit-raising and ether-taking with their glamorous neighbour, Lord Byron. and his handsome but unnerving doctor, Polidori. 
 
Once Byron proposes a ghost-story contest, an even stranger atmosphere descends. One in which passion mingles with fear, and the living confront the dead.

Caroline Lea

Prize Women

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