The Midnight Rose

Written by Lucinda Riley

Narrated by Aysha Kala

From the author of the Seven Sisters series, Lucinda Riley, The Midnight Rose spans four generations and sweeps from the glittering palaces of the great maharajas of India to the majestic stately homes of England, following the extraordinary life of a girl, Anahita Chavan, from 1911 to the present day . . .

Read by Aysha Kala (The Appeal, The God of Small Things)

'A captivating read from Lucinda Riley. Ideal for a book club' – Daily Mail

A lifelong passion. An endless search.

At the height of the British Raj, eleven-year-old Anahita, from a noble but impoverished family, forms a lifelong friendship with the headstrong Princess Indira, the privileged daughter of rich Indian royalty. Becoming the princess's official companion, Anahita accompanies her friend to England just before the outbreak of the Great War. There, she meets the young Donald Astbury – reluctant heir to the magnificent, remote Astbury Estate – and his scheming mother.

Eighty years later, Rebecca Bradley, a young American film star, has the world at her feet. But when her turbulent relationship with her equally famous boyfriend takes an unexpected turn, she's relieved that her latest role, playing a 1920s debutante, will take her away from the glare of publicity to the wilds of Dartmoor in England. Shortly after filming begins at the now-crumbling Astbury Hall, Ari Malik, Anahita's great-grandson, arrives unexpectedly, on a quest for his family's past. What he and Rebecca discover begins to unravel the dark secrets that haunt the Astbury dynasty . . .

Shortlisted for the Epic Romantic Novel of the Year in the Romantic Novelists' Association Books Awards

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pan Macmillan
• Release date: Nov 12, 2020
• ISBN: 9781529043655

Lucinda Riley

Lucinda Riley was born in 1965 in Ireland, and after an early career as an actress in film, theatre and television, wrote her first book aged twenty-four. Her books have been translated into thirty-seven languages and continue to strike an emotional chord with all cultures around the world. The Seven Sisters series specifically has become a global phenomenon, creating its own genre, and there are plans to create a seven-season TV series. Her books have been nominated for numerous awards, including the Italian Bancarella prize, The Lovely Books award in Germany, and the Romantic Novel of the Year award. In 2020 she received the Dutch Platinum award for sales over 300,000 copies for a single novel in one year – an award last won by J K Rowling for Harry Potter. In collaboration with her son Harry Whittaker, she also devised a series of books for children called the Guardian Angels series, based on stories told to her children whenever they were facing a challenging situation. Harry then wrote the books, and they are now being published internationally. Though she brought up her four children mostly in Norfolk in England, in 2015 she fulfilled her dream of buying a remote farmhouse in West Cork, Ireland, which she always felt was her spiritual home, and indeed this was where her last five books were written. Lucinda was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and died on June 11th 2021, surrounded by her family.

Reviews for The Midnight Rose

[Veronika Schröpfer · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So far, I love all her books! There’s so much drama in real life that a happy end in the book, comforts the soul. What a pleasure to listen to.

[Michelle Weymouth · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing read! Loved this book and recommend it highly !