Not too bad, thank you.” His youngest daughter had been born with a palsy; she failed to thrive, could eat only certain foods, and at eleven was frequently ill. Keeping her well was a preoccupation of our little town. If there was milk or any dried vegetable to be had, a little spare usually found its way to the mayor’s house. Liv feels that she cannot go on without the portrait of Sophie—it is that important to her. Do you think a material object should hold such significance? Have you ever loved a piece of art or another object so much that you couldn’t bear to part with it? Hans Purrmann. The Académie Matisse. To hear these words from the mouth of a German Kommandant unbalanced me. You are clearly not an author who shies away from controversial subject matter. Your last novel, Me Before You , is—in part—the story of a paraplegic man who cannot bear to live his life wheelchair-bound any longer. In The Girl You Left Behind , you use a possibly stolen piece of art as a springboard for both romance and a highly publicized claim for restitution. What draws you to these types of stories?

The genre is fully Women’s Fiction (not a Romance at all). The storyline alternated between the past in World War 1, and the present day — giving two sides of the same story which revolves around a painting. Here’s the official blurb: Her loaves live under the counter by themselves. They contain some special ingredients. Ingredients that I promise you go into none of my other loaves.” Look, I know this probably doesn't make any sense, but could we possibly forget about the case? Just for one evening?" Her voice is too vulnerable. "Could we just be two people again?"Monsieur Armand, the baker, shushed them. “You cannot criticize Madame Lefèvre! We are all their puppets now. Madame Durant, do you criticize me for baking their bread?” Your love stories are famously complicated, something many readers can relate to. How do you construct the arc of a romantic relationship?

Your assistant has done sterling work, madame,” he boomed. I glanced sideways at her, watching as she tried to reconcile this man’s rather scruffy exterior with the command of language that usually came with extreme wealth. “You should promote her. She has an eye!” What kind of research did you do for The Girl You Left Behind? Is there a real artist whose work you imagined as Édouard Lefèvre’s paintings?

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I felt Mimi’s hand tighten round mine as she saw her mother, and I gave hers a squeeze, even though my heart was in my mouth. And I strode out. “What in God’s name is going on?” My voice rang out in the yard. Would... would it be possible to feed something to the children? It is a long time since they had any meat.” Love stories like this do not come along very often. The horror of war was not left out, but what shone through was the determination of loved ones to find each other again.

When Édouard joins the French army at the start of World War I, Sophie finds herself left behind, waiting in St. Péronne, a small French village, for her husband’s return. She shares her fear for Édouard’s safety with her sister, Hélène, who has also been left husbandless by the war. Together, the two women run their family’s small hotel and care for their younger brother, Aurélien, and Hélène’s two children. They do their best to keep Le Coq Rouge open as a place for neighbors to gather.Madame.” The Kommandant was the first to enter. He removed his rain-spattered cap and motioned to his officers to do the same.