From the author of The School for German Brides, this captivating historical novel set in nineteenth-century and post–World War II Paris follows two fierce women of the same family, generations apart, who find that their futures lie in the four walls of a simple bakery in a tiny corner of Montmartre.

1870: The Prussians are at the city gates, intent to starve Paris into submission. Lisette Vigneau—headstrong, willful, and often ignored by her wealthy parents—awaits the outcome of the war from her parents' grand home in the Place Royale in the very heart of the city. When an excursion throws her into the path of a revolutionary National Guardsman, Théodore Fournier, her destiny is forever changed. She gives up her life of luxury to join in the fight for a Paris of the People. She opens a small bakery with the hopes of being a vital boon to the impoverished neighborhood in its hour of need. When the city falls...]]> Mon, 28 Aug 2023 21:30:53 +0300 https://library.land/aimie-k-runyan/700461-mademoiselle_eiffel.html https://library.land/aimie-k-runyan/700461-mademoiselle_eiffel.html

From the author of The School for German Brides and A Bakery in Paris, this captivating historical novel set in nineteenth-century Paris tells the story of Claire Eiffel, a woman who played a significant role in maintaining her family's legacy and their iconic contributions to the city of Paris.

Claire Eiffel, the beautiful, brilliant eldest daughter of the illustrious architect Gustave Eiffel, is doted upon with an education envied by many sons of the upper classes, and entirely out of the reach of most daughters. Claire's idyllic childhood ends abruptly when, at fourteen, her mother passes away. It's soon made clear that Gustave expects Claire to fill her mother's place as caregiver to the younger children and as manager of their home.

As she proves her competence, Claire's importance to her father grows. She accompanies him on his travels and becomes his confidante and private secretary. She learns her father's architectural trade and becomes...]]> Wed, 23 Oct 2024 23:26:48 +0300 https://library.land/aimie-k-runyan/650536-the_castle_keepers.html https://library.land/aimie-k-runyan/650536-the_castle_keepers.html

"A fascinating story of love's ability to overcome family curses, scandals, and even war. Told in three parts, this multi-generational tale is wonderfully heartwarming!" —Madeline Martin, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London

Leedswick Castle has housed the Alnwick family in the English countryside for generations, despite a family curse determined to destroy their legacy and erase them from history.

1870. After a disastrous dinner at the Astor mansion forces her to flee New York in disgrace, socialite Beatrice Holbrook knows her performance in London must be a triumph. When she catches the eye of Charles Alnwick, one of the town's most enviably titled bachelors, she prepares to attempt a social coup and become the future Marchioness of Northridge. Then tragedy and scandal strike the Alnwick family, and Beatrice must assume the role of a lifetime:...]]> Wed, 12 Jul 2023 14:40:14 +0300 https://library.land/aimie-k-runyan/472179-daughters_of_the_night_sky.html https://library.land/aimie-k-runyan/472179-daughters_of_the_night_sky.html
]]> Wed, 15 Nov 2017 11:21:41 +0200 https://library.land/aimie-k-runyan/635153-the_school_for_german_brides.html https://library.land/aimie-k-runyan/635153-the_school_for_german_brides.html

In this intriguing historical novel, a young woman who is sent to a horrific "bride school" to be molded into the perfect Nazi wife finds her life forever intertwined with a young Jewish woman about to give birth.

Germany, 1939

As the war begins, Hanna Rombauer, a young German woman, is sent to live with her aunt and uncle after her mother's death. Thrown into a life of luxury she never expected, Hanna soon finds herself unwillingly matched with an SS officer twenty years her senior. The independence that her mother lovingly fostered in her is considered highly inappropriate as the future wife of an up-and-coming officer and she is sent to a "bride school." There, in a posh villa on the outskirts of town, Hanna is taught how to be a "proper" German wife. The lessons of hatred, prejudice, and misogyny disturb her and she finds herself desperate to escape.

For Mathilde Altman, a German Jewish woman, the war has brought more devastation than she...]]> Sun, 23 Jan 2022 01:01:15 +0200 https://library.land/aimie-k-runyan/82714-duty_to_the_crown.html https://library.land/aimie-k-runyan/82714-duty_to_the_crown.html
Set amid the promise and challenge of the first Canadian colonies, Aimie K. Runyan's vividly rendered novel provides a fascinating portrait of the women who would become the founding mothers of New France.

In 1667, an invisible wall separates settlers in New France from their Huron neighbors. Yet whether in the fledgling city of Quebec or within one of the native tribes, every woman's fate depends on the man she chooses—or is obligated—to marry.

Although Claudine Deschamps and Gabrielle Giroux both live within the settlement, their prospects are very different. French-born Claudine has followed her older sister across the Atlantic hoping to attract a wealthy husband through her beauty and connections. Gabrielle, orphan daughter of the town drunkard, is forced into a loveless union by a cruel law that requires her to marry by her sixteenth birthday. And Manon Lefebvre, born in the Huron village and later adopted by settlers, has faced the...]]> Wed, 09 Nov 2016 06:17:40 +0200 https://library.land/aimie-k-runyan/82713-promised_to_the_crown.html https://library.land/aimie-k-runyan/82713-promised_to_the_crown.html
"An engaging, engrossing debut."--Greer Macallister, USA Today bestselling author of The Magician's Lie

Bound for a new continent, and a new beginning.

In her illuminating debut novel, Aimie K. Runyan masterfully blends fact and fiction to explore the founding of New France through the experiences of three young women who, in 1667, answer Louis XIV's call and journey to the Canadian colony.

They are known as the filles du roi, or "King's Daughters"--young women who leave prosperous France for an uncertain future across the Atlantic. Their duty is to marry and bring forth a new generation of loyal citizens. Each prospective bride has her reason for leaving--poverty, family rejection, a broken engagement. Despite their different backgrounds, Rose, Nicole, and Elisabeth all believe that marriage to a stranger is their best, perhaps only, chance of happiness.

Once in...]]> Wed, 09 Nov 2016 06:17:39 +0200