Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Historical adventure fiction

THE LIE

Mary Chamberlain

This is the latest historical fiction novel by Mary Chamberlain

Joan, once a singing star of the 1940s and 1950s, now ekes out a lonely, impoverished existence - until a chance encounter promises a comeback concert and an album.

Her sister Kathleen is a successful medical researcher who has been offered the directorship of a prestige institute in Los Angeles in her retirement but is facing divorce after her husband's affair.

In their old age, Joan and Kathleen draw closer together. Until a figure from Joan's past threatens everything they've built. As the sisters excavate the lies that bound them together, a more profound truth threatens to drive them apart.

Set in three time frames, the novel unravels the sisters' lives as choices past and present collide.

Mary Chamberlain is a novelist and historian. Her debut novel, The Dressmaker of Dachau, was published in 18 countries. She is the author of non-fiction books on women's history and Caribbean history, including Fenwomen, the first book published by Virago Press. She lives in London with her husband, the political theorist Stein Ringen.

Available products
Book Published 2023-07-20 by Magpie Books / Oneworld

Comments

I galloped through this beautifully written epic tale, unable to put it down. The Lie is full of tension and twists, but it's also a poignant portrait of what it means to be a mother. We follow the plights of two sisters from WW2 until the 2000's, very different women, both struggling to survive in a world that refuses or begrudges them power and agency because of their sex. The Lie is a fascinating look at women's evolving role in history, and an emotional, heart-stopping read.

A gripping, absorbing mystery about the true meaning of family, and a fascinating exploration into the huge social changes that impacted ordinary lives, particularly those of women, during the 20th century.

In The Lie, Mary Chamberlain expertly weaves together the different timelines, whilst simultaneously unpicking the nature of women's relationships. Chamberlain is a brilliant storyteller and this tightly-plotted tale of tough choices and hard truths doesn't disappoint.