Steeped in history and filled with heart-wrenching twists, The Stolen Marriage is an emotionally captivating novel of secrets, betrayals, prejudice, and forgiveness. It showcases Diane Chamberlain at the top of her talent. One mistake, one fateful night, and Tess DeMello’s life is changed forever. It is 1944. Pregnant, alone, and riddled with guilt, twenty-three-year-old Tess DeMello abruptly … twenty-three-year-old Tess DeMello abruptly gives up her budding career as a nurse and ends her engagement to the love of her life, unable to live a lie. Instead, she turns to the baby’s father for help and agrees to marry him, moving to the small, rural town of Hickory, North Carolina. Tess’s new husband, Henry Kraft, is a secretive man who often stays out all night, hides money from his new wife, and shows her no affection. Tess quickly realizes she’s trapped in a strange and loveless marriage with no way out.
The people of Hickory love and respect Henry but see Tess as an outsider, treating her with suspicion and disdain. When one of the town’s golden girls dies in a terrible accident, everyone holds Tess responsible. But Henry keeps his secrets even closer now, though it seems that everyone knows something about him that Tess does not.
When a sudden polio epidemic strikes Hickory, the townspeople band together to build a polio hospital. Tess knows she is needed and defies Henry’s wishes to begin working at there. Through this work, she begins to find purpose and meaning. Yet at home, Henry’s actions grow more alarming by the day. As Tess works to save the lives of her patients, can she untangle the truth behind her husband’s mysterious behavior and find the love–and the life–she was meant to have?
A Library Reads Top Ten Book of October 2017
Praise for The Stolen Marriage:
“[A] well-crafted crime-tinged tale.” —Publishers Weekly
“The Stolen Marriage is the kind of story that will grab you and refuse to let you go until you turn the last page.” —All About Romance
“Readers will be sucked in immediately…you just can’t go wrong with a book with [Chamberlain’s] name on the cover.” —Southern Pines Pilot
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The author developed her characters slowly over the course of the book – so if the book seems “typical” – stay with it. There were a few unexpected turns in the story and I couldn’t put it down!
Fantastic!!!!!!
Dragged on to long.
I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my review.
I liked this book a lot. As a resident of North Carolina, I had no knowledge of the emergency polio hospital that was built in Hickory during World War II. While the rest of the story is fiction, the details about this quickly built facility is true. I was amazed at what a group of people were able to accomplish in such a short amount of time.
Things were also very different in 1944. Prejudices and racial tensions abounded, religious beliefs were very strict…very unforgiving views, divorce laws, etc. It was an interesting trip back in time.
While I don’t particularly believe in spirits and the supernatural, it didn’t affect the rest of this story. Lots of family dynamics, snobbery among the elite, the feelings of loss of self worth, etc. It was a great story with some interesting twists.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
While the love story part of this book won’t change your life! Ha! It did keep me turning the pages… however the part that intrigued me was the true story part of it about a small town. Hickory NC ..where the town people built a hospital to treat polio patients prior to the Salk vaccine discovery..if you want to learn more about it..Google The Miracle of Hickory NC..
This quick book is worth a try. You’ll love the unfolding characters and some surprising twists. I like that it was a stand alone book and doesn’t lead you into a continuing saga of books.
Being an outsider is always a challenge. Imagine it in 1944. Teaming up a marriage of necessity and secrets, and you have a tense story. Add an insider’s death, a medical emergency, and you’ve got a suspenseful tale that holds your interest from first page to last.
This is a Library Reads Top Ten Book for October, and it’s easy to understand why. Well done!
I have read every one of Diane Chamberlain’s books and never have been disappointed.
The book is based on history It covered the polio epidemic in the ,40’s plus interracial marriage being unlawful. But the book is fictional. I could not put it down. The ending was not what I expected. All of her books are wonderful.
Diane Chamberlqin always surprises. You think you know all the facts and then she culminates with a surprise you just didn’t see coming
I loved this book. It uses true events woven with fictional characters .
Great read. Love the characters. I could not put it down. Diane chamberlin
This is a book about the polio epidemic in Hickory, North Carolina during WW II. It is about how the town worked together to set up a hospital over just a few days to save the lives of children afflicted with polio. Diane Chamberlain used a wonderful plot to her book to weave a very enjoyable story including mystery, romance, and tragedy against a medical background.
I thoroughly enjoy Diane Chamberlain’s books. Her books are pure pleasure to read.
Loved this book!
Great read. I enjoyed the book, and I loved most of all that it was very easy to read and about the South,, a real page turner.
This book is definitely one of Diane Chamberlain’s best. It reminds me a bit of Cypress Point – and has a killer ending!
Loved this book! Th story flowed easily. It was well written.
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The Stolen Marriage was a heavily engaging read that I found very hard to put down. Diane Chamberlain again delivers fictional characters within a historical fiction storyline to showcase a very nonfiction event: In the summer of 1944, in Hickory, North Carolina, an emergency hospital was conceived and put into operation within an unbelievable timeframe of 54 hours by volunteers to treat an overflow of polio patients during an epidemic. (For more information on this event, search “Miracle of Hickory” and tons of articles will pop up.)
The historical setting in this book allowed Ms. Chamberlain to showcase additional elements to include race, gender, social class, spirituality, and family dynamic issues, all which created palpable conflict for the characters. There is a lot going on in this book but it worked for me and created an experience that I invested myself in effortlessly. Throughout the majority of the story, there is a subtle mystery in regards to the heroine’s husband that I found painfully predictable but that could have been an initial lucky guess on my part that made the clues stand out more than they otherwise would have – not sure. However, there is a twist later on that got me good I have to admit. The Stolen Marriage will certainly be joining my list of Diane Chamberlain favorites. Check it out!
Outstanding read! Another winner by Diane Chamberlain.