The Lines Between Us

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Published by: She Writes Press
Release Date: September 8, 2020
Pages: 376
ISBN13: 978-1-63152-743-2

 
The Lines Between Us  can also be ordered wherever you buy books.

 

Synopsis

Juliana, a sixteen-year-old girl, vanishes from Madrid in the year 1661. Her aunt, Ana, having heard of her niece’s disappearance, frantically searches Juliana’s room and comes across a diary. Having made some painful discoveries when she had found her deceased husband’s journal, Ana is reluctant to invade another’s private thoughts. Still, as she journeys to the south of Spain in the hope that Juliana has simply traveled there with her father, Ana begins to slowly read Juliana’s diary. After a futile search for her niece in Seville, Ana finishes reading the entries, discovering the horrifying reason that Juliana has fled.

In 1992, Rachel is in the process of cleaning out her deceased mother’s home and finds a packet of letters, along with a diary by a woman named Juliana, enclosed in an old quilt. Rachel has never heard her reserved mother talk about any such papers, and she feels betrayed at the perceived deception. Reading Juliana’s words and the writings that had been hidden with them, Rachel begins to understand a centuries-old secret, the women who have preserved it, and what effect it had on her mother’s life and on her own in turn.

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Praise

"Author Rebecca D'Harlingue has crafted a truly beautiful work of epistolary fiction that takes us directly to the pens and minds of her characters. . . . Delving into Hispanic culture and history, this is clearly an incredibly well-researched novel with much to offer in its enthralling plotline, but also in an opportunity to expand our minds beyond typical family dramas. . . . What results is a highly personal, intelligent and emotive story that brings you closer to these women than you may think possible, ensuring that their tragedies and triumphs stay in your heart forever."
- Readers' Favorite

“D’Harlingue’s prose is languid and sure throughout this novel and especially effective at threading in intriguing details of 17th-century Spain and Mexico City, including the role of education in the lives of women… An ambitious, engaging novel that explores the power of finding personal connection to the past.”
—Kirkus Reviews

"The novel is poetic in its verse. D'Harlingue's mastery of the written word is apparent throughout the book. If you read this book for no other reason, read it for its prose.... I am honored to award this masterpiece 4 out of 4 stars. This novel is sure to have a profound impact on any reader."
-onlinebookclub.org

“In The Lines Between Us D’Harlingue has created a captivating debut novel filled with unique characters, exquisite details, and intriguing family secrets. A diary and letters furtively passed down three hundred years from grandmother to granddaughter transport readers back in time and move them forward as the mysteries are elegantly revealed. This book is about women’s honor, overcoming heartache, and bravery."
- Jill G. Hall, author of The Black Velvet Coat

“After the death of her mother, Rachel finds a trove of documents, meant not for her but for her yet-unborn daughter. As she reads, she uncovers an unknown family history, and a heritage of secrecy and resentment. Rebecca D’Harlingue weaves a complex and fascinating tale, ranging from 17th-century elite Madrid to a Mexican convent to modern Missouri, a tale of honor and deception, of hidden pain and, eventually, forgiveness.”
- Martha Hoffman, author of Raised to Rule: Educating Royalty at the Court of the Spanish Habsburgs, 1601-1634

"In her meticulously researched epistolary novel, The Lines Between Us, Rebecca D’Harlingue weaves a tale of familial love, brutality, and sacrifice during the seventeenth-century Spanish Inquisition. D'Harlingue's elegantly crafted, intriguing story spans the Old and New Worlds, exploring the oppression and power of generations of women bound together by a dark family secret—and their modern-day descendant’s quest to uncover the truth about her ancestry."
- Kristen Harnisch, international bestselling author of The Vintner’s Daughter and The California Wife

“Rebecca D'Harlingue's The Lines Between Us is a heartfelt and intelligent novel about love, family, and the ties that bind us to generations past.”
- Michael David Lukas author of The Last Watchman of Old Cairo

“Well-kept secrets maintain unbroken lines connecting generations for three centuries in this arresting story about women and the compromises they must make for survival. The author immerses us in 17th Century Spain and doesn’t let us emerge until 21st Century America, when Rachel fills in the missing spaces. Well-written and engaging, the tale rings true and affirms women’s strength, desire to be heard, and fierce love of family.”
- Linda Stewart Henley, author of Estelle

Awards for The Lines Between Us