Mary Chamberlain’s “unputdownable” third novel goes to Oneworld

Oneworld has scooped up The Forgotten, an “unputdownable” third novel from historian Mary Chamberlain. Juliet Mushens sold UK and Commonwealth rights to Jenny Parrott, publishing director at Point Blank. It will publish in hardback in September on the Oneworld list.

The blurb states: “The Forgotten is set in 1950s London and Berlin in 1945, and follows Betty and John, a young couple who meet at the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. But John has his own dark past in Germany: posted to Berlin towards the end of the war, John has been left traumatised by his experiences there. And, as his initial admiration for Betty shifts into an overwhelming need to protect her, he is plagued by flashbacks and fantasies. John’s increasing fragility brings to the surface Betty's own memories. And soon her past, too, begins to unravel…”

Chamberlain is the author of two previous novels, The Dressmaker of Dachau (The Borough Press) and The Hidden (Oneworld). She is also the author of non-fiction books on women’s history and Caribbean history, including Fenwomen, a portrait of women in an English village, the first book published by Virago Press.

She said: “I am thrilled that Oneworld will be publishing my new novel, The Forgotten, a story about two young people caught up in the paranoid world of the Cold War which began for both of them, but in very different ways, in Berlin in 1945. Trapped by their memories of war and its aftermath, The Forgotten is a story of love and trust, of loyalty and betrayal, as two broken people piece their lives, and their love, together again.”

Parrott added: “Mary excels at post-1940 period fiction, and with The Forgotten she has raised her already high bar yet again, with a heart-breaking love story sown with the seeds of 1958 London and the start of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Beautifully written and deeply atmospheric, it's an unputdownable story where one's heart practically bursts with an exquisite ache while reading.”