A story of love and intrigue that travels from Kennedy-era Manhattan to World War I Europe from the New York Times bestselling author of The Summer Wives and The Golden Hour.

Fresh from college, irrepressible Vivian Schuyler defies her wealthy Fifth Avenue family to work at cutthroat Metropolitan magazine. But this is 1964, and the editor dismisses her…until a parcel lands on Vivian’s Greenwich Village doorstep that starts a journey into the life of an aunt she never knew, who might give her just the story she’s been waiting for.

In 1912, Violet Schuyler Grant moved to Europe to study physics, and made a disastrous marriage to a philandering fellow scientist. As the continent edges closer to the brink of war, a charismatic British army captain enters her life, drawing her into an audacious gamble that could lead to happiness…or disaster.

Fifty years later, Violet’s ultimate fate remains shrouded in mystery. But the more obsessively Vivian investigates her disappearing aunt, the more she realizes all they have in common—and that Violet’s secret life is about to collide with hers.

A People StyleWatch “Must Read Book”
One of Reader’s Digest’s Top Summer Thrillers of the Year

About The Secret Life of Violet Grant

Passion, redemption, and a battered old suitcase full of secrets: the New York Times-bestselling author of A Hundred Summers returns with another engrossing tale of lost love and female ambition that crosses generations.

Manhattan, 1964. Vivian Schuyler, newly graduated from Bryn Mawr College, has recently defied the privilege of her storied old Fifth Avenue family to do the unthinkable for a budding Kennedy-era socialite: break into the Mad Men world of razor-stylish Metropolitan magazine. But when she receives a bulky overseas parcel in the mail, the unexpected contents draw her inexorably back into her family’s past, and the hushed-over crime passionnel of an aunt she never knew, whose existence has been wiped from the record of history.

Berlin, 1914. Violet Schuyler Grant endures her marriage to the philandering and decades-older scientist Dr. Walter Grant for one reason: for all his faults, he provides the necessary support to her liminal position as a young American female physicist in prewar Germany. The arrival of Dr. Grant’s magnetic former student at the beginning of Europe’s fateful summer interrupts this delicate détente. Lionel Richardson, a captain in the British Army, challenges Violet to escape her husband’s perverse hold, and as the world edges into war and Lionel’s shocking true motives become evident, Violet is tempted to take the ultimate step to set herself free and seek a life of her own conviction with a man whose cause is as audacious as her own.

As the iridescent and fractured Vivian digs deeper into her aunt’s past and the mystery of her ultimate fate, Violet’s story of determination and desire unfolds, shedding light on the darkness of her years abroad . . . and teaching Vivian to reach forward with grace for the ambitious future––and the love––she wants most.

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Also by Beatriz Williams

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Also by Beatriz Williams

See all books by Beatriz Williams

Also by Beatriz Williams

See all books by Beatriz Williams

About Beatriz Williams

Beatriz Williams lives with her husband and children in Connecticut. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Along the Infinite Sea, Tiny Little Thing, The Secret Life of Violet Grant, A Hundred Summers, and Overseas. She also writes… More about Beatriz Williams

About Beatriz Williams

Product Details

Category: Historical Romance | Historical Fiction

Paperback | $16.00
Published by Berkley
May 05, 2015 | 528 Pages | 5-5/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780425274842

Category: Historical Romance | Historical Fiction

Ebook | $9.99
Published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons
May 27, 2014 | 448 Pages | ISBN 9781101596562

Category: Historical Romance | Historical Fiction | Audiobooks

Audiobook Download | $17.50
Published by Penguin Audio
May 27, 2014 | 882 Minutes | ISBN 9780698153479

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Praise

“A riveting tale.”—US Weekly

“Another substantive beach read steeped in history and familial intrigue…Readers will love wallowing in the twists and turns of this irresistibly luxurious tale.”—Booklist

“A story of passion, redemption and a battered suitcase full of mysteries.”—Greenwich Time

“Fabulous…a perfect summer read.”—Examiner.com

“Another absorbing page-turner filled with romance and secrets.”—Library Journal

“Mysterious, passionate, and engrossing.”—Popsugar

“Hard to stop reading.”—The Missourian

“A smashing summer read.”—Historical Novels Review