Description

‘Written with such a lightness of touch and extraordinary charm that they always change my mood to hopeful. Absolute balm.’ – Marian Keyes, author of Rachel’s Holiday

‘Her books are utterly delightful’ – Daily Mail

The Morning Gift by award-winner Eva Ibbotson, author of The Secret Countess and A Song for Summer, is a modern classic of unexpected love, independence and belonging during World War II.

Spring 1938: as Hitler marches into Austria, Ruth Berger’s family is forced to flee, but a devastating misunderstanding leaves her alone in Nazi-occupied Vienna. There is no hope of escape until a chance meeting with an old family friend, Quinton Somerville, offers her refuge through a marriage of convenience.

On arrival in London, Ruth and Quin find that dissolving their marriage is not as simple as they had thought, nor is keeping it secret. As war approaches, how will Ruth start a new life if she is not able to break away from the past?

Publisher Review

Both [The Morning Gift and The Secret Countess] are about displaced people in a time of war but written with such a lightness of touch and extraordinary charm that they always change my mood to hopeful. Absolute balm. — Marian Keyes * The Guardian * Her adult books manage to be radiant and comforting, even though they address war, migration, racism and eugenics. In these frightening times, I want to read about open-hearted heroines pursuing happiness and love against the odds. — Samantha Ellis * The TLS * Her books are utterly delightful * Daily Mail * The beauty of their old life in Vienna and the descriptions of their refugee existence in north London are heart-rending . . . It is also sweetly romantic.. — Harriet Green * The Guardian * A perfect marriage of deep romance and gently observed social comedy . . . It is flawless — Jenny Colgan