'Beautiful' Adele Parks
'Life affirming and compelling!' Clare Mackintosh
'Tender and illuminating' Carys Bray
'Its characters pulse with life and energy . . . vividly rendered' Daily Mail

Perfect for fans of Early One Morning by Virginia Baily and the novels of Maggie O'Farrell.

Early spring 1944.

Connie Granger has escaped her bombed-out city home, finding refuge in the Women's Timber Corps. For her, this remote community must now serve a secret purpose.

Seppe, an Italian prisoner of war, is haunted by his memories. In the forest camp, he finds a strange kind of freedom.

Their meeting signals new beginnings. But as they are drawn together, the world outside their forest haven is being torn apart. Old certainties are crumbling, and both must now make a life-defining choice.

What price will they pay for freedom? What will they fight to protect?


What readers are saying about Shelter:

'Tender, moving . . . with its unforgettable heroine' Irish Times

'Powerful and moving. Connie and Seppe are amazing characters. So well nuanced. I loved her feisty courage. And such heartbreak! This compelling debut shows how outsiders in a time of war seek to rebuild their lives again' Essie Fox, author of The Last Days of Leda Grey

'I LOVED it. Seppe is one of the most refreshing portrayals of masculinity I have ever read' Shelley Harris, author of Jubilee

'A lovely hymn to the woods and the men and women who worked there during the Second World War' Lissa Evans, author of Their Finest Hour

'The deeply profound effects of war quietly resonate through Sarah Franklin's gentle but delightful debut. Filled with characters armed with little more than their steadfast resolve and plucky humour, Shelter casts a light on the often forgotten work of the Women's Timber Corps and presents it with charm and delicately refreshing warmth' Jason Hewitt, author of Devastation Road

'A brilliant book. Everyone should read it' Alex Reeve, author of House on Half Moon Street

'Such a treat . . . a super sense of place' Rachael Beale, London Review Bookshop

'Beautifully written . . . Authentic and honest' Roger Deek, 'Reading the Forest'

'An impressive debut' WhatCathyReadNext

'Fresh, moving and redemptive' Literary Sofa

'One of the year's hottest debuts' NetGalley, Book of the Month

'Evocative, beautifully complex characters you grow to adore and a grittiness that grounds you within its message of loss, hope and what home really means' Goodreads 5* review

'The book is really fantastic. It's Sarah Franklin's debut novel but I really hope she's working on her second one right now' NetGalley Reviewer

'A tender, empathetic novel' NetGalley Reviewer

'Spirited, determined and reckless, the Second World War brings Connie the opportunity to seek what she's looking for, but the price for that opportunity is a high one . . . an impressive debut' NetGalley Reviewer

Beautifully written and filled with complex, real characters, it's about hope, loss, family and dreams. Deeply profound and moving, it was also laugh-out-loud funny * Bridget Christie *
Its characters pulse with life and energy - Connie's contrary longings and Seppe's difficult journey to inner peace are vividly rendered, as is the evocation of the forest and its healing qualities * Daily Mail *
This beautifully crafted tale of survival and solace reveals that you can find a home in the most unusual places * Sunday Express *
The wartime lives of both Italian POWs and the lumberjills have received surprisingly little cultural attention over the years; in Franklin's tender, moving debut novel, with its unforgettable heroine, those experiences get the loving attention they deserve. * The Irish Times *
A mesmerising wartime story about identity * The Irish Examiner *

Sarah Franklin grew up in rural Gloucestershire and has lived in Austria, Germany, the USA and Ireland. She lectures in publishing at Oxford Brookes University and has written for the Guardian, Psychologies magazine, The Pool, the Sunday Express and the Seattle Times. Sarah is the founder and host of Short Stories Aloud, and a judge for the Costa Short Story Award. She lives between Oxford and London with her family.

@SarahEFranklin #GiveMeShelter