Author(s): Mary Doria Russell

Fiction and NZ Fiction

It is 8 September 1943 and fourteen-year-old Claudette Blum is learning Italian with a battered suitcase in her hand. She and her father are among the thousands of Jewish refugees scrambling over the Alps towards Italy, where they hope to find safety, now that the Italians have broken with Germany and made a separate peace. The Blums will soon discover that Italy is anything but peaceful. Overnight, it becomes a battleground for the occupying German forces, advancing Allies, an increasingly confident resistance, Jews in hiding and ordinary Italians simply trying to survive.Against this dramatic backdrop and through the experiences of a handful of fascinating, beautifully drawn characters - a mercurial Italian resistance leader, a Catholic priest, an Italian rabbi and his family, and a disillusioned Wehrmacht doctor - A Thread Of Grace recalls the little-known but true conspiracy of Italian citizens that saved the lives of tens of thousands of Jews during the final, desperate phase of the Second World War.The result of five years of meticulous research, Mary Doria Russell's first historical novel is a captivating story of ordinary people caught up in extraordinary times and accomplishing remarkable things. Full of drama, warmth, nobility and, for all the darkness, hope, it is a breathtaking achievement.