Midnight Rose

Shortlisted for the Epic Novel award in the Romantic Novelists Association Books Awards. Spanning four generations; The Midnight Rose by Lucinda Riley sweeps from the glittering palaces of the great maharajas of India to the majestic stately homes of England; following the extraordinary life of a girl; Anahita Chavan; from 1911 to the present day . . . A lifelong passion. An endless search. In the heyday of the British Raj; eleven-year-old Anahita; from a noble but impoverished family; forms a lifelong friendship with the headstrong Princess Indira; the privileged daughter of rich Indian royalty. Becoming the princess's official companion; Anahita accompanies her friend to England just before the outbreak of the Great War. There; she meets the young Donald Astbury - reluctant heir to the magnificent; remote Astbury Estate - and his scheming mother. Eighty years later; Rebecca Bradley; a young American film star; has the world at her feet. But when her turbulent relationship with her equally famous boyfriend takes an unexpected turn; she's relieved that her latest role; playing a 1920s debutante; will take her away from the glare of publicity to the wilds of Dartmoor in England. Shortly after filming begins at the now-crumbling Astbury Hall; Ari Malik; Anahita's great-grandson; arrives unexpectedly; on a quest for his family's past. What he and Rebecca discover begins to unravel the dark secrets that haunt the Astbury dynasty . . . 'A captivating read from Lucinda Riley. Ideal for a book club' - Daily Mail/Femail