Agent
Assistant
Melissa Tombere
MTombere@UnitedAgents.co.ukBiography
Maggie Brookes is an ex-journalist and BBC historical documentary producer turned novelist and poet. She relishes uncovering stories about the strength of women and the power of friendship and love in the most terrible of circumstances. The Prisoner’s Wife – based on an extraordinary true story of WW2 – was published around the world in 2020. Acts of Love and War, published in 2022, is a heartrending tale of love, courage and sacrifice, following three young British volunteers in the Spanish Civil War.
Maggie taught Creative Writing at Middlesex University for 30 years and has had six poetry collections published under the name Maggie Butt.
Praise for ACTS OF LOVE AND WAR:
‘A vivid, immersive novel about a remarkable woman helping refugees in a bitter, heartbreaking war. I couldn’t put it down’ Gill Paul bestselling author of The Collector’s Daughter
‘Extraordinary events sensitively told’ Lucy Jago, author of Nets for Small Fishes
‘This is a war story that absolutely needed to be told’ Susan Meissner, bestselling author of The Nature of Fragile Things
‘A love story with a twist; a war story with a difference. A beautiful, compelling story of hope and humanity in war.’ Nikki Marmery, author of On Wilder Seas
‘Be prepared to lose your heart in the simmering heat of war-torn Spain.’ Miranda Malins, author of The Puritan Princess
‘An accomplished and expansive portrait of a conflict fought on the battlefield of the human heart’ Ann Morgan, author of Reading The World
Publications
Fiction
1936. Civil war in Spain. A world on the brink of chaos . . .
21-year-old Lucy feels content with her life in Hertfordshire – not least because she lives next door to Tom and Jamie, two very different brothers for whom she has equally great affection.
But her comfortable life is turned upside down when Tom decides he must travel to Spain to fight in the bloody Spanish Civil War. He is quickly followed by Jamie who, much to Lucy’s despair, is supporting General Franco.
To the dismay of her irascible father, Lucy decides that the only way to bring her boys back safely is to travel to Spain herself to persuade them to come home.
Yet when she sees the horrific effects of the war, she quickly becomes immersed in the lifesaving work the Quakers are doing to help the civilian population, many of whom are refugees.
As the war progresses and the situation becomes increasingly perilous, Lucy realises that the challenge going forward is not so much which brother she will end up with, but whether any of them will survive the carnage long enough to decide . . .
Their love is a death sentence. But can it keep them alive?
Czechoslovakia, 1944. In the dead of night, a farm girl and a British soldier creep through abandoned villages. Secretly married and on the run, Bill and Izabela are searching for Izabela’s brother and father, who are fighting for the Czech resistance. They know their luck will not last.
Captured by the German army, it seems they must be separated – but they have prepared for this moment. By cutting her hair and pretending to be mute, Izabela successfully disguises herself as a British soldier. Together, they face the terrible conditions of a POW camp, reliant on the help of their fellow POWs to maintain their fragile deception.
Their situation is beyond dangerous. If Izabela is discovered, she and Bill – and all the men who helped them – will face lethal consequences.
