“A gorgeous and thrilling novel… Perfect for book clubs and fans of The Nightingale.” –PopSugarA historical novel of love and survival inspired by real resistance workers during World War II Austria, and the mysterious love letter that connects generations of Jewish families. A heart-breaking, heart-warming read for fans of The Women in the Castle, Lilac Girls, and Sarah’s Key.Author of the … the Castle, Lilac Girls, and Sarah’s Key.
Author of the forthcoming In Another Time.
Austria, 1938. Kristoff is a young apprentice to a master Jewish stamp engraver. When his teacher disappears during Kristallnacht, Kristoff is forced to engrave stamps for the Germans, and simultaneously works alongside Elena, his beloved teacher’s fiery daughter, and with the Austrian resistance to send underground messages and forge papers. As he falls for Elena amidst the brutal chaos of war, Kristoff must find a way to save her, and himself.
Los Angeles, 1989. Katie Nelson is going through a divorce and while cleaning out her house and life in the aftermath, she comes across the stamp collection of her father, who recently went into a nursing home. When an appraiser, Benjamin, discovers an unusual World War II-era Austrian stamp placed on an old love letter as he goes through her dad’s collection, Katie and Benjamin are sent on a journey together that will uncover a story of passion and tragedy spanning decades and continents, behind the just fallen Berlin Wall.
A romantic, poignant and addictive novel, The Lost Letter shows the lasting power of love.
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This was a beautifully written historical novel that, is at it’s heart, a love story. It’s dual storyline is enrapturing, taking us between 1938 Austria and 1989 California. This novel truly brought the story full circle from Nazi occupied Vienna to the fall of the Berlin Wall. A moving tale of courage, loyalty, family, and love.
Great read with lots of twists.
I liked the story .That is my favorite time in history.
The Lost Letter by Jillian Cantor had me enthralled from the first page to the last. Flashing back and forth between the time of Hitler’s invasion of Austria in 1938 and the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, an intricate story of parallel lives and struggles emerges. The author does a fantastic job of fleshing out the scenes of war-torn Europe and the Kristallnacht, the horrible night when anyone of Jewish heritage was sought out, killed or sent to work camps, never to be seen again.
In the face of such terror, those who are brave enough to fight the Germans risk everything to help get others to safety. Jewish Elena, daughter of a prominent stamp engraver, fears nothing as she and her father’s German apprentice forge documents and stamps, allowing others to flee to freedom.
Fifty years later in Los Angeles, Katie struggles as her life seems to implode all around her. With her mother dead, the care of her father falls to her. As Alzheimer’s erodes his mind, and the past and present blur, she has no choice but to put him into a special care facility. Feeling neglected and putout due to lack of attention, Katie’s husband unceremoniously tells her he wants a divorce and moves out.
Running from the very first scene of the book to the last, postage stamps become the common thread throughout the story. They are the means to salvation. They are also the key to the past. And everything that happens in this incredibly rich, compelling tale is bound together in a flawless narrative that held me fascinated. I have read very few books that are this perfectly pulled together. I can’t recommend it enough. It will inspire, entertain, frighten and surprise you. And most of all, it will warm your heart.
I read so many books, that sometimes they just blend in with so many others I have read, BUT this one was intriguing from start to finish. A very good read.
This book simultaneously tells the stories of two people. Katie in present-day America and Kristoff in WWII Austria. Katie takes a twisting journey trying to discover the history of a unique stamp from her father’s collection. We also learn of Kristoff, an apprentice engraver; a Christian working for a Jewish master as Austria becomes occupied by Germans. This is a beautiful story about the many forms of love and the courage it can inspire.
An interesting book that makes you think about the implications of a lost letter. I could have read even more about the characters.
A good story and very educational.
Hard to put down. I love reading WWII stories and what so many people did and the choices they were forced to make. the secrets!
I loved this book. It was well written, not predictable, full of mystery and I couldn’t put it down.
The writer did a good job in tying in the two story lines. Good character building. I enjoyed the story and look forward to reading more from this author.
I thought this book was really interesting. The plot line goes back and forth between current day and Austria on the eve of WWII. The ending did stretch credibility a bit, but it was heartwarming.
What a beautiful book. So smoothly written, so achingly beautiful. I couldn’t put this down. I needed to know – as much as the character did – what the stamp and the story really was. Oh, how achingly beautiful, and painful, this novel is. To be taken into the real world of people who suffered and survived such travesty and horror and … love. An absolutely beautiful story. Thank you for it.
A beautiful historical novel that takes place in Austria during 1938 and Los Angeles – the 1990s.
The story moves in parallel lines – Austria before World War II: Christophe and Elena, stamps, dealing with an underground mission of transferring messages and uniquely forged documents.
On the other side is Los Angeles – the nineties of the twentieth century: Katie and Benjamin, the stamp dealers, who decide to trace a unique Austrian stamp on a letter in her father’s stamp collection.
The writing of the book is fluent, and it reads in the blink of an eye.
A great story of people ‘s lives across 50 years of survival and love. I could not put this book down. Travel from World War 2 in Austria to 1989 in LA, both of which take you back in time, to find the answers of what happened to a young Jewish couple during the war.
I thought the book was very well written. I’ve read other books that switched back and forth between two storylines taking place at different times. This book did this seamlessly unlike some of the others.
The Lost Letter was a fantastic read. The story came to live through the characters in the two time periods. Reading this story I experienced an array of emotions. Memorable story
A delicately woven story of 3 women at different places in history that all had ties to the same castle. Each of them shared the trials of war, women’s suffrage and love. Very well done.
I have always been fasinated by stories about WWII and this one didn’t disappoint me for sure.
It was a “gem” of a book. Really enjoyed it!