Rosie's War

Slavomir Rawicz was a young Polish cavalry officer. On 19 November 1939 he was arrested by the Russians and after brutal interrogation he was sentenced to 25 years in the Gulags.
After a 3-month journey to Siberia in the depths of winter he escaped with 6 companions, realising that to stay in the camp meant almost certain death. In June 1941 they crossed the trans-Siberian railway and headed south, climbing into Tibet and freedom 9 months later in March 1942 after travelling on foot through some of the harshest regions in the world, including the Gobi Desert.
First published in 1956, this is one of the world's greatest true stories of adventure, survival and escape.

Sister Mary Cooper died in a Japanese prison camp on 26 June 1943, from the combined effects of starvation, brutality and tropical diseases. Timothy Kenneally and Patrick Fitzgerald tried to escape from a slave labour camp on the Burma Railway. They were caught, tortured - crucified - and then executed on 27 March 1943. And Patrick Carberry spent the summer of 1943 cremating the emaciated corpses of his comrades, who had died from cholera. These people had two things in common: they were Irish citizens serving with the British armed forces; and they were amongst more than 650 Irishmen and women who became prisoners of the Imperial Japanese Army in 1942. Nearly a quarter of them were murdered whilst in Japanese captivity - this is their story. Combining historical narrative with first-hand accounts of the conditions in Japanese POW camps, Robert Widders brings to light their suffering and the strength that saw them home again.

For more than three decades, Rosie Thomas has enthralled readers around the world. Now, in The Kashmir Shawl, her most ambitious book yet, Thomas sweeps through time and place, and her readers will discover in this novel a captivating, romantic epic--an irresistible story of enduring love and memory.

It is the eve of 1941 and World War II is engulfing the globe. Newlywed Nerys Watkins leaves rural Britain to accompany her husband on a missionary posting to India, but when he leaves her in the exotic lakeside of Srinagar to take on a complicated mission elsewhere, she discovers a new world. Here, in the heart of Kashmir, the British dance, flirt, and gossip against the backdrop of war and Nerys soon becomes caught up in a dangerous liaison. By the time she is reunited with her husband, she is a very different woman. .

Years later, Nery’s granddaughter Mair Ellis clears out her dead father’s house and finds an exquisite shawl--a kaleidoscope of silvery blues and greens. Wrapped in the folds of this delicate object is a lock of a child’s curly hair. With nothing else to go on, Mair decides to trace her roots back to Kashmir, embarking on a quest that will change her own life forever. .

In this marvelous novel by a writer whose novels Marie-Claire called “beautifully written” and “a treat,” the inimitable Rosie Thomas is at her very best. A sweeping, multigenerational tale of marriage and isolation, The Kashmir Shawl is a tribute to the power of finding love in the most magical, unexpected places.
REVIEWS: Winner of the Romantic Novelists’ Association Epic Romantic Novel Award.

“Mystery, intrigue, a great love, passion, and a terrible sorrow all come together to make this a very touching and satisfying read.” --Barbara Taylor Bradford, bestselling author of Letter from a Stranger

“A master storyteller.” --Cosmopolitan

“Rosie Thomas has the rare and wonderful ability to create stories and characters that take you instantly into another world--one you are most reluctant to leave until you have reached the end.” --Penny Vincenzi, bestselling author of No Angel

“Thomas writes with a sharp nib, not a dull computer key. She is neither mawkish nor squeamish, but full of fresh images.” --Washington Post Book World

"Thomas brings India to glorious life in this utterly engrossing and beautifully written epic novel, a best seller in Britain. She moves the story from past to present with ease, never allowing one story line to overwhelm another. Her characters are so interesting and realistic that readers will be reluctant to let them go. Fans of Joanna Trollope and Mary Wesley will enjoy this moving work." --Library Journal (starred review)

“A finely wrought story of emotional and geographical displacement . . . The atmospheric detail brings the culture and gorgeous scenery of Kashmir to vivid life while also hinting at the political and religious strife that will soon overcome the region as India gains its independence.” --Kirkus Reviews

“Thomas weaves a love mystery in her latest work heavy on rich characters and scenery . . . [A] compelling scandalous tale in 1940s India, set against the dynamic backdrop of Kashmir.” --Publishers Weekly.

“An avid traveler and thorough researcher, Thomas brings the flavors and colors of India to life with vivid detail and develops characters so real one feels a kinship. An engrossing, intelligent, and satisfying read, this publication is the American debut of a UK best-seller.” --Booklist

“A gorgeous treat . . . Superbly written, marvelously descriptive and especially evocative of the war years.” --Choice

“Rosie Thomas writes with beautiful, effortless prose, and shows a rare compassion and a real understanding of the nature of love.” --The Times

“Spellbinding . . . Honest and compassionate, [Thomas’s] books are a delight from start to finish.” --Daily Express