The Stolen Marriage: A Novel
Steeped in history and filled with heart-wrenching twists, The Stolen Marriage is an emotionally captivating novel of secrets, betrayals, prejudice, and forgiveness. It showcases Diane Chamberlain at the top of her talent.
One mistake, one fateful night, and Tess DeMello’s life is changed forever.
It is 1944. Pregnant, alone, and riddled with guilt, twenty-three-year-old Tess DeMello abruptly gives up her budding career as a nurse and ends her engagement to the love of her life, unable to live a lie. Instead, she turns to the baby’s father for help and agrees to marry him, moving to the small, rural town of Hickory, North Carolina. Tess’s new husband, Henry Kraft, is a secretive man who often stays out all night, hides money from his new wife, and shows her no affection. Tess quickly realizes she’s trapped in a strange and loveless marriage with no way out.
The people of Hickory love and respect Henry but see Tess as an outsider, treating her with suspicion and disdain. When one of the town’s golden girls dies in a terrible accident, everyone holds Tess responsible. But Henry keeps his secrets even closer now, though it seems that everyone knows something about him that Tess does not.
When a sudden polio epidemic strikes Hickory, the townspeople band together to build a polio hospital. Tess knows she is needed and defies Henry’s wishes to begin working at there. Through this work, she begins to find purpose and meaning. Yet at home, Henry’s actions grow more alarming by the day. As Tess works to save the lives of her patients, can she untangle the truth behind her husband’s mysterious behavior and find the love—and the life—she was meant to have?
A Library Reads Top Ten Book of October 2017
Praise for The Stolen Marriage:
"[A] well-crafted crime-tinged tale." —Publishers Weekly
"The Stolen Marriage is the kind of story that will grab you and refuse to let you go until you turn the last page." —All About Romance
"Readers will be sucked in immediately...you just can't go wrong with a book with [Chamberlain's] name on the cover." —Southern Pines Pilot
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
What Bookclubbers are saying about this book
✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI
Readers say *The Stolen Marriage* is a well-researched historical novel set during the 1940s polio epidemic, offering a compelling mix of love, secret...
Henry is from a well-respected family and owns a furniture store. The townspeople love and respect Henry and treat Tess like an outsider. Her mother-in-law is the worst. Tess is blamed for the death of a prominent woman. Feeling alone Tess turns to a local medium who gives her hope. But she isn't used to having help and being waited on. Her life feels empty and unfulfilled. When a sudden polio outbreak hits Hickory, all the townspeople band together. Tess goes against the wishes of Hank and her mother-in-law and begins working as a nurse in the hospital that was quickly built for the epidemic. Tess quickly finds purpose and meaning, and also another chance at love when Vincent is one of the doctors there to help. Is it too late for them? Can Tess get out of her loveless marriage?
This really is a story about love, secrets, betrayals, prejudice and forgiveness. Chamberlain, as always, did her research. At first, I didn't care for the polio story but it really did happen. Be sure to read the author's notes at the end.
What will happen when Tess crosses paths with her former fiancé, Vincent, a doctor who has come to treat patients with polio? I learned a lot about polio and also about the Southern attitude towards outsiders. Tess is shunned because she is Italian, low-class, and from the North. She has also apparently stolen Henry from Violet, a Southern beauty who had set her eyes on marrying Henry.
The Stolen Marriage was my first Diane Chamberlain book. I had a hard time putting this one down. It immediately reminded me of Beatriz Williams' books, which I always enjoy. The best historical fiction books always tend to be the ones based on factual events. In this case it's the creation of a fully staffed polio hospital in fifty-four hours in Hickory, North Carolina during World World II. And while the tale around this event was fiction, it was only enhanced by the devastating effects of polio. Halfway through this book, I had no idea which direction it would go, and while the ending didn't blow me away, it held some twists I had not seen coming. I will most certainly be adding more books from this author to my books to read list.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.