The Metal Heart

A tense, passionate and deeply atmospheric novel about a community in wartime - and two defiant hearts. Orkney was so perfectly realised, too, that I almost felt windblown. I loved it all the more so for having read it during lockdown: Caroline’s beautiful transported me entirely to another time and land – Susan FletcherA powerful Second World War love story. As tensions grow between the Italian PoWs and the Orkney men, the scene is set for a dramatic reckoning. Lea writes beautifully of island life and love, and the sacrifices that both demand * The Times *Atmospheric, heart-wrenching, evocative - this is a gorgeously written story about the scars we carry with us, and how they can be overcome – Gytha LodgeUses the true story of the building of the chapel on Orkney by Italian prisoners during the Second World War to fashion a fast-moving and very touching story of sisterly devotion and passionate love – Adèle GerasA stunning novel … impeccably researched, gorgeously written, and deeply evocative of Orkney and its wild beauty. I loved this tale of sisters, salvation and sacrifice from the first page – Emma Stonex, bestselling author of The LamplightersConfirms Lea as a highly original and inventive writer * Sunday Times *A story of innocents caught up in the machinery of war. Exquisitely researched, beautifully told, this tiny corner of Scotland came alive – Mary Beth KeaneMyth, legend, fear and superstition all play a part in this intensely atmospheric novel * Choice Magazine *A beautiful, heart-breaking tale of grief, love and the bond between sisters. I read it in a day, desperate to know what would happen – Louise HareLea deftly taps into an age-old theme: suspicion and mistrust of outsiders. Woven throughout The Metal Heart is the potent reminder that there are always innocents caught up in the cruel, unforgiving machinery of war * Herald *

Caroline Lea grew up on the island of Jersey. The Glass Woman, her debut, is a gothic thriller set during the Icelandic witch trials. The Metal Heart, a Waterstones Scottish Book of the Month, is an epic Second World War love story; Prize Women reveals a feminist scandal at the heart of the roaring 20s. Her latest novel reimagines Mary Shelley and the writing of Frankenstein.

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