At the Water's Edge: A Novel
- ISBN-10
- 0812997891
- ISBN-13
- 9780812997897
- Series
- At the Water's Edge
- Category
- Fiction
- Pages
- 416
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2015-03-31
- Publisher
- Random House
- Author
- Sara Gruen
Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this thrilling new novel from the author of Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen again demonstrates her talent for creating spellbinding period pieces. At the Water’s Edge is a gripping and poignant love story about a privileged young woman’s awakening as she experiences the devastation of World War II in a tiny village in the Scottish Highlands. After disgracing themselves at a high society New Year’s Eve party in Philadelphia in 1944, Madeline Hyde and her husband, Ellis, are cut off financially by his father, a former army colonel who is already ashamed of his son’s inability to serve in the war. When Ellis and his best friend, Hank, decide that the only way to regain the Colonel’s favor is to succeed where the Colonel very publicly failed—by hunting down the famous Loch Ness monster—Maddie reluctantly follows them across the Atlantic, leaving her sheltered world behind. The trio find themselves in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands, where the locals have nothing but contempt for the privileged interlopers. Maddie is left on her own at the isolated inn, where food is rationed, fuel is scarce, and a knock from the postman can bring tragic news. Yet she finds herself falling in love with the stark beauty and subtle magic of the Scottish countryside. Gradually she comes to know the villagers, and the friendships she forms with two young women open her up to a larger world than she knew existed. Maddie begins to see that nothing is as it first appears: the values she holds dear prove unsustainable, and monsters lurk where they are least expected. As she embraces a fuller sense of who she might be, Maddie becomes aware not only of the dark forces around her, but of life’s beauty and surprising possibilities. Praise for At the Water’s Edge “Breathtaking . . . a daring story of adventure, friendship, and love in the shadow of WWII.”—Harper’s Bazaar “A gripping, compelling story . . . Gruen’s characters are vividly drawn and her scenes are perfectly paced.”—The Boston Globe “A page-turner of a novel that rollicks along with crisp historical detail.”—Fort Worth Star-Telegram “Powerfully evocative.”—USA Today “Gruen is a master at the period piece—and [this] novel is just another stunning example of that craft.”—Glamour
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2015-03-31
- 366 pages
- Paperback
- Hachette UK
Similar books
-
At the Water's Edge: Fish with Fingers, Whales with Legs, and How Life Came Ashore but Then Went Back to...
By Carl ZimmerIn this book, you will find a dazzling, brash literary talent and a rigorous scientific sensibility gracefully brought together.
-
Water's Edge
By Robert Whitlow“No, no,” Barnes replied from the speakerphone. “It's a staffing consolidation move.” Barnes's euphemism didn't change the result. “When?” Tom asked numbly. “Effective the end of the day,” Barnes replied. “The firm will give you a good ...
-
At the Water's Edge: Defending Against the Modern Amphibious Assault
By Theodore L GatchelThe amphibious assault against a defended beach is fully explored from the perspective of the defender.
-
Standing at Water's Edge: Moving Past Fear, Blocks, and Pitfalls to Discover the Power of Creative Immersion
By Anne ParisIn Standing at Water’s Edge, psychologist Anne Paris calls on her extensive experience in working with creative clients to explore the deep psychological fears that block us from creative immersion.
-
Living at the Water's Edge: A Heritage Guide to the Outer Banks Byway
By Barbara Garrity-Blake, Karen Willis AmspacherCleveland will have to use an aeroplane or walk to the Light House wharf” (Beaufort News, January 7, 1926). Captain Cleveland was Cleveland Davis of Harkers Island. The Light House wharf was at Cape Lookout.
-
City at the Water's Edge: A Natural History of New York
By Betsy McCullyThe story of New York City that began before the first humans settled in the region twelve thousand years ago is told in a unique account of the area's geological history, a look at how the region has served as a habitat for a diversity of ...
-
Riding Lessons: A Novel
By Sara GruenAs a world-class equestrian and Olympic contender, Annemarie Zimmer lived for the thrill of flight atop a strong, graceful animal.
-
Standing at the Water's Edge: Bob Straub's Battle for the Soul of Oregon
By Charles K. JohnsonTakes readers on a journey of contemporary US history using primary sources and artifacts.
-
Flying Changes: A Novel
By Sara GruenThere is a time to move on, a time to let go . . . and a time to fly. “Sara Gruen writes with passionate precision about horses and their humans and the healing power of love.”—Maryanne Stahl, author of Forgive the Moon Anxiety rules ...
-
At the Water's Edge
By Pradeep JeganathanThe seven interconnected stories span a near thirty years of his county's recent past; each traces a delicately textured frame of troubling, telling beauty, weaving together, with almost incredible economy, not the often composed image of ...