The Walnut Tree LP - Paperback

by Charles Todd (Author)

"You're going to love Todd."
--Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly

The critically acclaimed creator of the Inspector Ian Rutledge and battlefield nurse Bess Crawford mystery series, Charles Todd now offers readers a bittersweet love story and romantic mystery that unfolds at Christmas during the dangerous opening days of World War I. The Walnut Tree is an unforgettable story of a woman who puts herself in the line of fire for the sake of wounded soldiers and falls deeply in love with a man who may be forbidden to her. For anyone who has fallen under the spell of Downton Abbey, and for all the fans of the British-set mysteries of Elizabeth George, Anne Perry, Ruth Rendell, Martha Grimes, and Jacqueline Winspear, The Walnut Tree is essential reading.

Back Jacket

Paris, 1914. Lady Elspeth Douglas is visiting friends when the shadow of war falls across Europe. As her French fiancé races to rejoin his unit, she tries to reach England, only to be trapped on the French coast amid refugees and wounded men. Elspeth pitches in to help wounded soldiers, getting closer and closer to the Front, soon finding herself in danger as enemy shells fall. Captain Peter Gilchrist comes to her rescue, pulling her away from the battle and to safety. But before they can properly say goodbye, they are separated.

In London, Elspeth is haunted by all she's witnessed, and she can't forget the gallant man who saved her. Without her guardian's consent, she trains as a nurse. She's determined to return to France to do her part, and to find the man she has no right to love. Then everything goes wrong. In this world of uncertainty, can love survive, or will Elspeth's troubled heart become another casualty of this terrible war?