Last Letter from Istanbul: Escape with this epic holiday read of secrets and forbidden love

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Their uniforms are clean but she sees them drenches in blood. How many men have you killed, she asks, silently….”

The more we talked through the book, the characters and the plot the more it occurred how the huge themes of war, human nature, tradition, culture and love is told through a million small details in the book. The plot itself is not fast paced but each chapter we look through a window into each character and through their experience of daily life in the occupied city, we gain an understanding and an empathy with Nur, George, The Boy, The Prisoner and The Traveller . When your group has read the book, we’d love to hear what you think. Tweet us at @HarperFiction and @W6BookCafe using #LastLetter. Realmente no creo que esta historia sea considerada romance, de eso hay poco y el que hay poco dura. The house has been transformed into an army hospital, it is a prize of war in the hands of the British. And as Nur weaves through the streets carrying the embroideries that have become her livelihood, Constantinople swarms with Allied soldiers – a reminder of how far her she and her city have fallen.On one of these secret visits Nur is discovered by Dr George Monroe, a medical officer in the British army and to Nur, a sworn enemy. This is not to be their first encounter and as a reader we witness how their tentative but very delicate relationship develops over a period of time. Her liberation has come at a price. She is a teacher now and a child's guardian, she understands duty and responsibility. What then, when circumstances have her questioning her core values? What would her father have said? Or her little brother, who was forced to fight in his country's war? A sorrowful war changes a country forever- changes its people, can the trauma be reversed? Forgiven? Is there room for love in such a hateful sphere? Wir schreiben das Jahr 1921. Istanbul ist nach dem Krieg von Besatzern überlaufen. Die einst so schöne und lebendige Stadt wirkt nun grau und traurig. Viele Familien haben Verluste zu beklagen und mussten ihr Heim verlassen. Unter anderem Nur und ihre Familie. In ihrem Heim ist jetzt ein Lazarett der Britten eingerichtet. Als es Nur eines Tages dorthin zieht, lernt sie den leitenden Arzt kennen. Es scheint sich eine Art Beziehung anzubahnen, die so nicht sein darf.

Everyday new inhabitants arrive, fleeing the ongoing consequences of the Great War, the revolution in Russia. Dispossessed, desperate. Regular flurries of chaos at the quays.” The invading soldiers The story is mainly based on how war changes everyone and everywhere. With each chapter, you are told the story through different characters and I really did enjoy how well it was done.An unassuming, kind, Scottish doctor has volunteered to serve at the local military hospital. This is the basis for a love story and dance of keeping within decorous rules which are constantly changing. Nur had never worn a veil, but it is now considered a sign of respectability in a woman who encounters the occupying enemy – even when he does her less harm than her own family. The house has been transformed into an army hospital, it is a prize of war in the hands of the British. And as Nur weaves through the streets carrying the embroideries that have become her livelihood, Constantinople swarms with Allied soldiers a reminder of how far she and her city have fallen. The house has been transformed into an army hospital, it is a prize of war in the hands of the British. And as Nur weaves through the streets carrying the embroideries that have become her livelihood, Constantinople swarms with Allied soldiers – a reminder of how far she and her city have fallen. Set during the occupation of Istanbul by allied forces after the First World War, Last Letter from Istanbul tells its story from alternating viewpoints. Those of Nur, a local evicted from her family home and now living with her mother and grandmother in a far less desirable district; the young boy who has been taken in by Nur; George, the army doctor, whose hospital occupies Nur’s former home; and two unnamed characters in the Traveller and the Prisoner. It becomes clear who they are as the novel progresses. Before the war Nur lived a happy and very comfortable existence in a beautiful mansion, a place where she had a wonderful upbringing with warm childhood memories. But following the war and the occupation of her beloved city, all that changed as her home fell under the authority of the British Army and was transformed into a hospital.

This will sweep you away for the summer. Lucy Foley blends a rich history, haunting secrets and a timeless love story’ Santa Montefiore, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Deverill series This conflict between freedom and propriety swirls around Nur and comes to the fore when she finds herself asking for help. George is the enemy personified and I felt for Nur when she’s in his company because of the internal struggles she endures each time. George seems to have less of an understanding of this because he’s one of the occupying forces and a man, although he’s not without a sense of (somewhat) delayed propriety.Meanwhile, George Monroe is a Scottish doctor, administering at the local military hospital overlooking the Bosporus, which was once Nur’s grand family home. When the Armenian boy requires help, their lives become entwined with consequences neither could have foreseen. By 1921 the Allied soldiers had well established themselves in the city of Constantinople. The local inhabitants remained fearful with many also carrying a great hatred against these invaders. The Allies took over their homes and buildings, taking up residence in what were once the grand homes of Turkish traders and successful business people. For one inhabitant, Nur, this occupation, and the war leading up to it, has taken everything from her. Her gentle brother, a teacher, never returned home from fighting and is now presumed dead. Her mother is unable to cope since and struggles daily to deal with her loss. Nur now resides in cramped living conditions with her mother, grandmother and a young orphaned boy, who Nur has committed herself to looking after. Nur’s only little bit of pleasure is her very occasional, and very secret, visits to her old family home across the Bosphorus river. Es una lectura algo fuerte, está escrita muy bonito y tiene descripciones muy bellas de cosas comunes, pero eso no le quita el ambiente triste que inunda la historia. Te presentan las múltiples interrogantes de un conflicto: ¿Existen soldados buenos y malos dependiendo del lado en que luchen? ¿Quién la tiene más difícil,los soldados o los civiles? ¿Es mejor para los prisioneros de guerra volver a casa y vivir con lo que pasó o morir? ¿Alguien alguna vez se recupera realmente de la guerra? Last Letter from Istanbul is a compelling and sweeping tale that crosses decades and takes the reader on a captivating journey through the tumultuous history of a nation that has struggled to maintain an identity, a nation that struggles to find peace. Also look out for Lucy Foley’s Sunday Times bestselling crime debut, THE HUNTING PARTY, available to buy now.*