The Stolen Marriage: A Novel
Oct 2017 · St. Martin's Press
4.6star
23 reviewsreport
Ebook
384
Pages
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About this ebook
Steeped in history and filled with heart-wrenching twists, The Stolen Marriage is an emotionally captivating novel of secrets, betrayals, prejudice, and forgiveness. It showcases Diane Chamberlain at the top of her talent.
One mistake, one fateful night, and Tess DeMello’s life is changed forever.
It is 1944. Pregnant, alone, and riddled with guilt, twenty-three-year-old Tess DeMello abruptly gives up her budding career as a nurse and ends her engagement to the love of her life, unable to live a lie. Instead, she turns to the baby’s father for help and agrees to marry him, moving to the small, rural town of Hickory, North Carolina. Tess’s new husband, Henry Kraft, is a secretive man who often stays out all night, hides money from his new wife, and shows her no affection. Tess quickly realizes she’s trapped in a strange and loveless marriage with no way out.
The people of Hickory love and respect Henry but see Tess as an outsider, treating her with suspicion and disdain. When one of the town’s golden girls dies in a terrible accident, everyone holds Tess responsible. But Henry keeps his secrets even closer now, though it seems that everyone knows something about him that Tess does not.
When a sudden polio epidemic strikes Hickory, the townspeople band together to build a polio hospital. Tess knows she is needed and defies Henry’s wishes to begin working at there. Through this work, she begins to find purpose and meaning. Yet at home, Henry’s actions grow more alarming by the day. As Tess works to save the lives of her patients, can she untangle the truth behind her husband’s mysterious behavior and find the love—and the life—she was meant to have?
A Library Reads Top Ten Book of October 2017
Praise for The Stolen Marriage:
"[A] well-crafted crime-tinged tale." —Publishers Weekly
"The Stolen Marriage is the kind of story that will grab you and refuse to let you go until you turn the last page." —All About Romance
"Readers will be sucked in immediately...you just can't go wrong with a book with [Chamberlain's] name on the cover." —Southern Pines Pilot
One mistake, one fateful night, and Tess DeMello’s life is changed forever.
It is 1944. Pregnant, alone, and riddled with guilt, twenty-three-year-old Tess DeMello abruptly gives up her budding career as a nurse and ends her engagement to the love of her life, unable to live a lie. Instead, she turns to the baby’s father for help and agrees to marry him, moving to the small, rural town of Hickory, North Carolina. Tess’s new husband, Henry Kraft, is a secretive man who often stays out all night, hides money from his new wife, and shows her no affection. Tess quickly realizes she’s trapped in a strange and loveless marriage with no way out.
The people of Hickory love and respect Henry but see Tess as an outsider, treating her with suspicion and disdain. When one of the town’s golden girls dies in a terrible accident, everyone holds Tess responsible. But Henry keeps his secrets even closer now, though it seems that everyone knows something about him that Tess does not.
When a sudden polio epidemic strikes Hickory, the townspeople band together to build a polio hospital. Tess knows she is needed and defies Henry’s wishes to begin working at there. Through this work, she begins to find purpose and meaning. Yet at home, Henry’s actions grow more alarming by the day. As Tess works to save the lives of her patients, can she untangle the truth behind her husband’s mysterious behavior and find the love—and the life—she was meant to have?
A Library Reads Top Ten Book of October 2017
Praise for The Stolen Marriage:
"[A] well-crafted crime-tinged tale." —Publishers Weekly
"The Stolen Marriage is the kind of story that will grab you and refuse to let you go until you turn the last page." —All About Romance
"Readers will be sucked in immediately...you just can't go wrong with a book with [Chamberlain's] name on the cover." —Southern Pines Pilot
Ratings and reviews
4.6
23 reviews
Holly DuBois
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October 4, 2017
The Stolen Marriage by Diane Chamberlain is an historical fiction, taking place on the East Coast of the United States in the mid 1940’s, during the polio epidemic. The characters are interesting and complex, making you cheer for some and want to throttle others. And with some of them, you’ll want to do both. They are so rich in their complexities that you won’t want to put down the book. Tess DeMello is engaged to her lifelong friend and love when, after some shocking news, she hastily abandons her home in Baltimore’s Little Italy for a small town in North Carolina and marries a man she barely knows. She is quickly immersed into an unfamiliar world that includes wealth and deception. She tries to make the most of her situation, but becomes overwhelmed with grief and loneliness. Suddenly, polio strikes the small town, devastating their inadequate health care resources. The entire town pulls together to fight the disease, giving Tess purpose back to her life. As she reverts to the strong woman you meet at the start of the book, she begins to untangle the messy life she has created for herself. Many accurate historic topics are incorporated into the story, including racial bigotry as well as the terror that accompanied polio outbreaks. The fascinating way that the author describes those events makes for an incredibly interesting story. The Stolen Marriage is my new favorite book by this author. Of course, I might say that after each of her books! She is an extraordinary writer whose characters you will quickly take into your heart and hold them there for a long time to come.
6 people found this review helpful
Christia Saunders
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November 24, 2017
Holly dubois' review is right on target. this is a wonderful, difficult to put down novel. Highly recommend! If you enjoy jodie piccolt novels, u will enjoy his author novel as well.
3 people found this review helpful
Simi F.
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January 6, 2019
what what wha.dont feel any sympathy for her at all she's beyond boring. formula cliched book ..stupid
About the author
DIANE CHAMBERLAIN is the international bestselling author of more than twenty novels, including The Dream Daughter, Necessary Lies, and The Silent Sister. She lives in North Carolina with her partner, photographer John Pagliuca, and her sheltie.
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