A unique and engrossing love story, SHELTER is an entirely fresh tale
of transformed lives in difficult times.

It’s 1944, and Connie Granger, a born-and-bred city girl, has arrived in the middle of the Forest of Dean, looking for sanctuary and somewhere to hide a huge secret: Connie is pregnant, and has been left with no option but to survive alone and take on work as a lumberjill in order to keep her pregnancy under wraps.

Working amongst dozens of young women employed to help the war effort, she meets Seppe, an Italian P.O.W. living in a camp nearby, who is finding that life as a prisoner is offering him the greatest freedom he has ever known. And there was Amos, who has never left the forest but is mourning his son who has. These three compelling characters weave a special bond in extraordinary and testing circumstances and create a new family, while Connie and Seppe get to know each other and start to thrive in this new life. But the baby’s arrival changes everything, and Connie is forced to decide whether to stay or run - and who to leave behind.

The irrepressible Connie leads this beautifully-written story of independence, hope and love, and it¡¦s impossible not to root for the happiness of everyone woven into this beguiling setting. A perfect fit for a bookclub readership, SHELTER is a bold, brilliant debut from a champion of the literary world.

 

Sarah Franklin teaches publishing at Oxford Brookes, is the host of Short Stories Aloud and a judge for the Costa Short Story Award. She has written for the Guardian, Psychologies magazine, The Pool, the Sunday Express and the Seattle Times. In 2014, Sarah was awarded a Jerwood/Arvon Mentorship on the strength of her opening pages of SHELTER, and worked on the novel for a year with authors including Jenn Ashworth.