Prose Supplements - Shop now
$23.19
$3.99 delivery April 10 - 18. Details
Usually ships within 6 to 7 days
$$23.19 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$23.19
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
TheWorldShopUSA
TheWorldShopUSA
Ships from
TheWorldShopUSA
Returns
30-day refund/replacement
30-day refund/replacement
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Angela Barton
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Arlette's Story Paperback – April 9, 2019

by Angela Barton (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 551 ratings
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$23.19","priceAmount":23.19,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"23","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"19","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"mBubUfnVwWHb0CBl6TqykGraOMt%2BnLdYMTiw8O3cxNn1qtx7hg8CCS8%2FZ2rInOWdagmsLDq7tOkiPBQHt%2BKmtqKdHUU9SccpHAifUBPlA2slquU30CRnI62rRT8ZwX%2FeZ1KZ81gvs5ngppoTJ7L9rM92a%2F295ix6jn%2BhB6Yg2OnpfZu%2B%2BCYG7z7l4VdLoq%2Bs","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

An emotional and beautifully written debut you will not want to put down.

One woman's struggle to fight back against the enemy in order to protect the ones she loves.

When Arlette Blaise sees a German plane fly over the family farm in 1940, she's comforted by the fact that the occupying forces are far away in the north of the country. Surely the war will not reach her family in the idyllic French countryside near to the small town of Oradour-sur-Glane?

But then Saul Epstein, a young Jewish man driven from his home by the Nazis, arrives at the farm and Arlette begins to realise that her peaceful existence might be gone for good ...

Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Ruby Fiction
  4. Publication date
    April 9, 2019
  5. Dimensions
    5.2 x 0.83 x 7.72 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1912550121
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1912550128
Next slide of product details
"Layla" by Colleen Hoover for $7.19
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover comes a novel that explores life after tragedy and the enduring spirit of love. | Learn more

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ruby Fiction (April 9, 2019)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1912550121
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1912550128
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.2 x 0.83 x 7.72 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 551 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Angela Barton

Angela Barton

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Hi, I'm Angela and welcome to my author page. I was born in London but grew up in Nottingham, and although I've lived in Saudi Arabia and France, England always pulls me back.

When I'm not reading or writing, I can usually be found playing with air-drying clay, making miniature book earrings. I'm simply obsessed with books: their feel, their smell, their stories, their covers... I could very happily spend a whole day in Waterstones – I'm the strange woman sniffing books in the corner! Thankfully, I haven't been forcibly removed. Yet.

I'm passionate about writing both contemporary and historical fiction and love time spent researching. In 2018 I signed publishing contracts for three novels with Choc Lit’s new imprint, Ruby Fiction.

I'm a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and a reader for their New Writers’ Scheme. I'm also a member of Nottingham Writers’ Studio, the Society of Authors and Ellipses and Ampersands’ fiction critique group.

If you've purchased Arlette's Story, Magnolia House, or You've Got My Number, I'm very grateful.

Thank you very much. xx

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
551 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Bunny
    5.0 out of 5 stars Emotional history
    Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    Arlette's Story is an emotional trip down an historically inspired path. The horror that was the Nazi party is something we should never forget. The book is filled with unforgettable characters and a wonderful love story. I felt wrapped up in their world. I think this might be classified as romance but it is much more than that. It will help restore your Faith in the tenacity of the human spirit.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Lulu
    4.0 out of 5 stars Not Quite So Heartwarming
    Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Don't let the promo for this book fool you....heartwarming it wasn't. It's really not a book that you could cuddle up with on a cold winter's night, or for that matter a beach read. It is gut wrenching, it is history and it is about humanity at it's most horrific.

    We have just celebrated the 75th anniversary of D-Day and the landing of troops at Normandy. Reading this book was an emotional epitaph and served to remind us of what the people in France and Europe suffered at the hands of the Nazis. Well written, it was difficult to get through, horrific to read what vile people can to do to others. Horrific to know how humanity can be so baseless, how humanity can take away the fragility of life. Yet, I forced myself to finish this book, not because the author didn't write well, but I felt it was a tribute to those that lived through this, those that died trying to resist this savagery and those that died just because they were born in the wrong religion, or were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I am 76 years old, no youngster, but I didn't see or know at the time the horror that unfolded overseas. Believe me when I tell you, I will never go to Germany, never in my heart and soul is there going to be a time I will forget this history. What makes it so much more difficult, is that history has a way of repeating itself, and don't think for a minute it couldn't happen again! Take a good look at the world around you today, we have lost our civility and that is just the beginning.

    I am sure the author had her fair share of research for this book....it's out there. I don't know how she felt as she did her research, certainly it couldn't have been easy. It wasn't easy to read, but I got through it.;

    And so I gave this book 4 stars....this is not the first story I have read about WW!!. It might just be my last!
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Jean Atterberry
    5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn’t put the book down!
    Reviewed in the United States on February 9, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I could not put this book down! Arlette’s Story piques your interest from the very beginning to the end. The author writes in such a way that draws you into the story. I highly recommend!
    Helpful
     Report
  • Bjm15
    5.0 out of 5 stars What a great read: Arlette’s Story
    Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    I absolutely loved this book! I’m a fan of historical fiction so I found this book well presented and very readable. I encourage you to set aside some hours and get lost in the storyline. You will not be disappointed!
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Lynn Pool (Ellesea)
    5.0 out of 5 stars A moving novel
    Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2018
    My first historical novel set during WWII, Arlette's Story is both heartbreaking and uplifting as she and her family and friends come to terms and endure life during the German occupation of France.

    Arlette Blaise, her family and neighbours feel comforted by the fact the German forces were only occupying the north of their country. Set in idyllic surroundings, Oradour-sur-Glane had nothing to offer the foreign invaders. When a Jewish man arrives, driven from his home, they welcome him to work alongside her father on their farm. Everything is fine until the Nazis arrive in the small town and peace as they know it evaporates.

    Heart-wrenching, the author captures the emotion of time as the horrors of living in an occupied country unfold. The hardship; lack of food and essentials become part of life as everyone struggles to make the best of a dire situation. Secrets are kept, but with a constant threat of exposure, everyone is always on high alert, living on their nerves to preserve what little they have and to save those close to their hearts.

    Yet, there are moments of blind faith and wisdom, where everyone believes the occupation will be over sooner rather than later. Life goes on, but will it ever be the same again?

    Arlette and Saul's story is as beautiful as it is sad. Their endearing and enduring love conquers all, but not without tragedy. With a torn conscience, Arlette wants to act defiantly in protest but bends to the will of the Germans to try to provide and protect those who rely on her. Her unwavering bravery is not for the faint-hearted and not without consequences.

    Overall, a very commendable début novel by Ms Barton. Her writing enabled me to I enjoyed the picturesque scenes she painted as well as the cold realities of a community trying to survive during oppressive times. Therefore I'll definitely be looking for future titles from her in the future.

    4.5 stars

    ***arc generously received courtesy of Ruby Fiction via NetGalley***
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • donnasbookblog
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five stars from me - and it is one that I will be recommending again and again!
    Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2018
    This is an absolutely gorgeous story!

    The writing this book made the story really special. It is a brilliantly woven tale that takes you through a full range of emotions. It really helps to justice to a well researched and well thought out story that will play with your heartstrings.

    The main characters are excellent and they work so well together. The scene setting is great and you do feel as though you have been transported back to walk the streets the characters do. It really is a lovely book.

    I am lucky to have been born well after WWII and can only imagine what it must have been like for the people affected at the time, an excellent book that really brings home just how horrific it must have been...

    Five stars from me - and it is one that I will be recommending again and again!
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report

Top reviews from other countries

  • GillianF
    4.0 out of 5 stars A good read of the time
    Reviewed in France on May 18, 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I enjoyed this book very much. As I live in France and am interested in history it was interesting to read of how the occupation would have affected the local population - many of whom still alive in our village. Our village is not far from Oradour-sur-Glane and I have visited. Our village was also affected by a similar atrocity and it may well have been the same German division who visited Oradour. The speculation is that the German divisions were rushing north from the south having been fooled into believing the invasion would be in the south. In their rush north through our village they stopped, gathered the villagers together and set up a machine gun. The Germans believed the maquis/resistance were hiding in the local countryside and had mined the bridge over the river which was the only crossing across to continue north. In the event, they were persuaded against mass murder and shot a few maquis and locals and torched what was the Notaire's office and now the building for La Poste. My only comment on the author's otherwise excellent research is her reference to 'Christmas Pudding' with suet, brown sugar and mixed spice. The French don't have Christmas pudding and have no idea what it is or how to make it. They don't have 'mixed spice' but would make up the flavour required with the individual spices. It's a shame because it was an entirely unnecessary inclusion in the book and a glaring mistake to anyone who lives here.
    Report
  • Toscana
    5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtakingly beautiful
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 17, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    I loved the writing in this compelling story. To know one of the main tragic events of the war is true, makes Arlette's Story so harrowing. The chapter covering this event should be read by anybody who thinks war is the solution.
    Angela Barton's descriptions are touched with painterly brushstrokes. Beautiful. Descriptions of the French countryside, farmyard and village scenes are like Impressionist images and she is mistress of everyday glimpses: a sheet that 'flaps like an angry bird,'; 'midges danced in the last days of sunshine,'; 'a petal falls suddenly from a flower onto the tablecloth.' So that the reader is totally immersed in this corner of French countryside, with a landscape where the sky is 'the colour of Sèvres blue porcelain', and 'the air was perfumed with sweet chestnuts, moss and pine needles,' and ' Summer passed leaving parched and puckered bronze leaves to cartwheel across the farmyard.' Gorgeous.
    All the characters are utterly believable: the heroes and the villains, from baby Estelle Fleur with her ' hair as fine as a dandelion seed', to Steiner and his ' pungent arrogance'. Arlette comes of age in the story and the reader lives through all her pains.
    There are many layers to this book and grief is inevitably one: Arlette's father tries to console her by explaining that letting go of grief is by no means forgetting. He tells her it is like, 'wrapping a gift with delicate sheets of paper, folding the layers with your grief.' Elsewhere, we read that 'Memory is love's last light.' How beautiful is this?
    The author has dedicated this tragic, uplifting, harrowing book to the ordinary, innocent people murdered in the Oradour Massacre. She should be so proud of her bittersweet tribute.
    I recommend this book to all. Spread the word!
    Report
  • Lally
    5.0 out of 5 stars Emotional and inspirational story set in Occupied France
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 30, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    My goodness, what an emotional roller coaster ride of a novel.

    Arlette is a farmer’s daughter living in southern France during the German occupation in WW2. The mention, quite early in the story, of the martyred village of Oradour, lets the reader know this isn’t going to be a sweet, romantic tale in which two lovers need to make small sacrifices in order to find their happy-ever-after. French Arlette and French-Polish-Jewish Saul have much bigger challenges to face, and at several points in the novel we don’t know if they’ll make it to the end alive.

    Meticulously researched, Angela took me there and made me see the French countryside, feel the desperation and fear of a whole population of victimised, hungry people, and hear the despair in their voices as they face sickness and hardship during a brutal occupation culminating in a massacre.

    But this is not a depressing novel. The courage of Arlette, her family and her lover Saul are inspirational, proving that even in the darkest hours there can always be a little glimmer of light, and that love of many kinds can indeed conquer everything. There are even touches of humour as Saul acts as midwife to distressed cow - how did a city boy know about birthing ropes, wonders Arlette - and the villagers help themselves to the grape harvest some rich people left behind when they ran away to Scotland to escape the Germans.

    I finished reading feeling tearful and exhausted but in a very good way. I think Angela Barton is a wonderful storyteller and that this is a great addition to new publisher Ruby Fiction’s list.
    Report
  • Carol
    5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written, emotional and absorbing.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 7, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    This story of love set in occupied France during WW2 gripped me from the start. It is very well researched and a thoroughly absorbing read.

    The landscape is exquisitely brought to life. I fell in love with the characters, cried at their plight and willed them to achieve their hard fought victories. Being partly based on real events, I know Arlette’s Story will always stay with me.

    While the author doesn’t shy away from the atrocities of war upon the ordinary people of occupied France, she also crafts a heart-warming love story. There are lighter moments and the real affection portrayed between Arlette and Saul draws you in. They are perfectly matched.

    Overall this is a tale of hope and resilience against the worst of odds. A must read!
    Report
  • Roy Cochrane
    5.0 out of 5 stars The best book I have read for very many years, and I read a lot!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 26, 2019
    Verified Purchase
    A truly fantastic read, this has it all - romance, tragedy, historical authenticity, and beautiful writing. I bought it last year but have only now got around to reading it, but once started it was quite literally “unputdownable” (is there such a word?) and I read it more or less in a single sitting here in my garden in south-west France, not that far from where the story is set. As other reviewers have said the description of the atrocity at Oradour-sur-Glane is amazing, capturing the stark horror of that terrible day but in a very direct way that really brings the awful experience to life as few other descriptions do, and I will re-visit Oradour soon. But there is so much more . . . this book must be read!
    Report