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The Metal Heart

byCaroline Lea, David Monteath (Read by), Arielle Free (Read by), Simone Lahbib (Read by)

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

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Orkney, 1940. On a remote island, a prisoner-of-war camp is constructed to house five hundred Italian soldiers. Upon arrival, a freezing Orkney winter and divided community greets them.

Orphaned sisters Dorothy and Constance volunteer to nurse the men. Dot is immediately drawn to Cesare, a young man fighting on the wrong side and 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?

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

Susan Fletcher

About Caroline Lea

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.
Details
  • Imprint: Penguin
  • ISBN: 9781405948586
  • Length: 547 minutes
  • Price: £13.00
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