The Lives of Stella Bain

Anita Shreve

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Hauled in a cart to a field hospital in northern France in March 1916, an American woman wakes from unconsciousness to the smell of gas gangrene, the sounds of men in pain, and an almost complete loss of memory: she knows only that she can drive an ambulance, she can draw, and her name is Stella Bain.

A stateless woman in a lawless country, Stella embarks on a journey to reconstruct her life. Suffering an agonising and inexplicable array of symptoms, she finds her way to London. There, Dr August Bridge, a cranial surgeon turned psychologist, is drawn to tracking her amnesia to its source. What brutality was she fleeing when she left the tranquil seclusion of a New England college campus to serve on the Front; for what crime did she need to atone - and whom did she leave behind?

Vivid, intense and gripping, packed with secrets and revelations, THE LIVES OF STELLA BAIN is at once a ravishing love story and an intense psychological mystery.

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Praise for The Lives of Stella Bain

  • A powerful reminder of the resilience of the human spirit, this tale is utterly unforgettable - LadyAtonement with just the tiniest dash of Downton Abbey. This is a First World War story with a difference . . . a fantastic read - RedGripping and moving - Sunday TimesFascinating - Daily Mail

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Anita Shreve

Anita Shreve

Anita Shreve is the author of nine other critically acclaimed and bestselling novels, all published in Abacus paperback.

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