The Hidden Palace: the most spellbinding escapist historical novel of WW2 Malta from the No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller (The Daughters of War, Book 2)

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For me Rosalie’s story was stronger than Florence’s although things for Florence did take several turns towards the end of the book.

La giovane Rosalie è invece fuggita a Malta dalla Francia a causa di un grave scandalo familiare e ora, sotto la falsa identità di Riva Janvier, lavora come ballerina in un locale di dubbia moralità.If you feel you have been blocked unfairly, you may contact us via social media and plead your case. Malta came across as far more exotic compared to wartime England, where Florence was living in a cottage in the countryside. I also think that the Maltese scenes suffered from the author being unable to visit during lockdown as I didn’t really get a sense of place which was very vivid in the previous book. Somehow I was looking forward to learning more about all three daughters but it really only dealt in any detail with one of them.

I’ll admit as soon as Rosalie’s story started to have more prominence the book definitely picked up the pace. Many people may not be aware of how just badly the Maltese people suffered during the Second World War.The Hidden Palace is the second book in the Daughters of War series by Dinah Jefferies and having only recently read book number one the plot and characters were very much fresh in my mind.

Told by Florence at the end of WW2 and Rosalie from 1923, the depth and intricate detail about Malta and its outstanding beauty, the surrounding beaches, the ruthless and mercenary lives of some - all combined to create an outstanding novel from the hands of a master. Furthermore, Bobby’s role in her life made her character evolve and I was always hoping she would find her happy ever after, particularly as it is clear that Rosalie lost contact with her family, Florence’s mother included. But if you are new to this series this can easily be read as a standalone as plenty of background information to the previous story is provided.The characters and relationships were believable and I look forward to the third book in the series. Characters who I previously felt didn’t get enough focus now came into their own and even more of the background to the three sisters Helene, Florence and Elise was revealed and their mother Claudette finally featured and shared her heartbreak. I won’t directly address the final third of the book, but it was satisfying to see Florence and Jack traveling and pulling Florence’s family back together. But the war was still going, although it was at its last, and it would be a year before Florence, accompanied by Jack, as his occupation saw him able to work in the area, could go, first to Sicily then on to Malta. Le vite delle due donne, Riva/Rosalie e Florence, si intrecciano sempre più strettamente raccontandoci di perdite dolorose, guerre spietate e coraggio femminile.