Secret Life of Violet Grant

Memorial Day, 1938: New York socialite Lily Dane has just returned with her family to the idyllic oceanfront community of Seaview, Rhode Island, expecting another placid summer season among the familiar traditions and friendships that sustained her after heartbreak.

That is, until Greenwalds decide to take up residence in Seaview.

Nick and Budgie Greenwald are an unwelcome specter from Lilys past: her former best friend and her former fiancé, now recently married—an event that set off a wildfire of gossip among the elite of Seaview, who have summered together for generations. Budgies arrival to restore her familys old house puts her once more in the center of the communitys social scene, and she insinuates herself back into Lily's friendship with an overpowering talent for seduction...and an alluring acquaintance from their college days, Yankees pitcher Graham Pendleton. But the ties that bind Lily to Nick are too strong and intricate to ignore, and the two are drawn back into long-buried dreams, despite their uneasy secrets and many emotional obligations.

Under the scorching summer sun, the unexpected truth of Budgie and Nicks marriage bubbles to the surface, and as a cataclysmic hurricane barrels unseen up the Atlantic and into New England, Lily and Nick must confront an emotional cyclone of their own, which will change their worlds forever.

Praise for A HUNDRED SUMMERS:

“[A] fast-paced love story…the scorching sun illuminates a friends betrayal and reignites a romance.”— O, The Oprah Magazine

“Perfect for fans of the Gossip Girl series.” — People

“Summer of 1938: A scandalous love triangle and a famous hurricane converge in a New England beach community. Add in a betrayal between friends, a marriage for money, and a Yankee pitcher, and its a perfect storm.”—Good Housekeeping

“A candidate for this years big beach read.”—Kirkus

“Novels as masterfully done as A Hundred Summers come along only about that often.  Beatriz Williams delivers an intricately woven tale of friendship, betrayal, old families, and closely guarded secrets.  It is what every beach book should aspire to be - smart and engrossing.”—Elin Hilderbrand, author of Beautiful Day and the bestselling Summerland

"Smart, delicious writing... Williams adds a signature touch of historic drama."—Library Journal 

"Williams' sweeping saga of betrayal, sacrifice, and redemption trenchantly examines the often duplicitous nature of female friendships and family friendships."—Booklist

A Hundred Summers sparkles like the New England summer sun.  A brilliantly told tale of love lost and found, of friendship, and of family ties that strangle… Definitely a book for my keeper shelf."—Karen White, New York Times-bestselling author of Sea Change

“A riveting tale of murder and adultery.” —US Weekly

“Another absorbing page-turner filled with romance and secrets…. Violets narrative will captivate readers with its intrigue and the protagonists struggles…” —Library Journal

“Williams conjures up another substantive beach read steeped in history and familial intrigue.... Readers will love wallowing in the twists and turns of this irresistibly luxurious tale.” —Booklist

and#8220;Another substantive beach read steeped in history and familial intrigueand#8230;Readers will love wallowing in the twists and turns of this irresistibly luxurious tale.and#8221;and#8212;Booklist

and#8220;A story of passion, redemption and a battered suitcase full of mysteries.and#8221;and#8212;Greenwich Time

and#8220;Fabulousand#8230;a perfect summer read.and#8221;and#8212;Examiner.com

and#8220;Another absorbing page-turner filled with romance and secrets.and#8221;and#8212;Library Journal

and#8220;Mysterious, passionate, and engrossing.and#8221;and#8212;Popsugar

and#8220;Hard to stop reading.and#8221;and#8212;The Missourian

and#8220;A smashing summer read.and#8221;and#8212;Historical Novels Review

andmdash;Anne Fortier, New York Times-bestselling author of Juliet

  “[A] fast-paced love story…the scorching sun illuminates a friends betrayal and reignites a romance.”

                                    — O, The Oprah Magazine

“Perfect for fans of the Gossip Girl series.”  — People

“Summer of 1938: A scandalous love triangle and a famous hurricane converge in a New England beach community. Add in a betrayal between friends, a marriage for money, and a Yankee pitcher, and its a perfect storm.”

                        —Good Housekeeping

“A candidate for this years big beach read.” —Kirkus

“Novels as masterfully done as A Hundred Summers come along only about that often.  Beatriz Williams delivers an intricately woven tale of friendship, betrayal, old families, and closely guarded secrets.  It is what every beach book should aspire to be - smart and engrossing.”                                                              —Elin Hilderbrand, author of Beautiful Day and the bestselling Summerland

"Smart, delicious writing... Williams adds a signature touch of historic drama."  —Library Journal 

"Williams' sweeping saga of betrayal, sacrifice, and redemption trenchantly examines the often duplicitous nature of female friendships and family friendships." 

—Booklist

“A Hundred Summers delivers swoons and intrigue against the backdrop of the 1938 New England hurricane….Williams evokes the era effortlessly and delights in ripping the rug out from under the reader just when the riddles seem easiest to solve. Filled with delicious scandals, catty socialites, and true love, this beach read deserves pride of place in every vacationers tote bag.”

                                                — Shelf Awareness

A Hundred Summers sparkles like the New England summer sun.  A brilliantly told tale of love lost and found, of friendship, and of family ties that strangle… Definitely a book for my keeper shelf. —Karen White New York Times-bestselling author of Sea Change      

Passion, redemption, and a battered suitcase full of secrets: the New York Times-bestselling author of A Hundred Summers returns with another engrossing tale. 

Manhattan, 1964. Vivian Schuyler, newly graduated from Bryn Mawr College, has recently defied the privilege of her storied old Fifth Avenue family to do the unthinkable for a budding Kennedy-era socialite: break into the Madison Avenue world of razor-stylish Metropolitan magazine. But when she receives a bulky overseas parcel in the mail, the unexpected contents draw her inexorably back into her familys past, and the hushed-over crime passionnel of an aunt she never knew, whose existence has been wiped from the record of history.

Berlin, 1914. Violet Schuyler Grant endures her marriage to the philandering and decades-older scientist Dr. Walter Grant for one reason: for all his faults, he provides the necessary support to her liminal position as a young American female physicist in prewar Germany. The arrival of Dr. Grants magnetic former student at the beginning of Europes fateful summer interrupts this delicate détente. Lionel Richardson, a captain in the British Army, challenges Violet to escape her husbands perverse hold, and as the world edges into war and Lionels shocking true motives become evident, Violet is tempted to take the ultimate step to set herself free and seek a life of her own conviction with a man whose cause is as audacious as her own.

As the iridescent and fractured Vivian digs deeper into her aunts past and the mystery of her ultimate fate, Violets story of determination and desire unfolds, shedding light on the darkness of her years abroad . . . and teaching Vivian to reach forward with grace for the ambitious future––and the love––she wants most.

A People StyleWatch and#147;Must Read Bookand#8221;

One of Readerand#8217;s Digestand#8217;s Top Summer Thrillers of the Year

Fresh from college, irrepressible Vivian Schuyler defies her wealthy Fifth Avenue family to work at cutthroat Metropolitan magazine. But this is 1964, and the editor dismisses herand#133;until a parcel lands on Vivianand#8217;s Greenwich Village doorstep that starts a journey into the life of an aunt she never knew, who might give her just the story sheand#8217;s been waiting for.

In 1912, Violet Schuyler Grant moved to Europe to study physics, and made a disastrous marriage to a philandering fellow scientist. As the continent edges closer to the brink of war, a charismatic British army captain enters her life, drawing her into an audacious gamble that could lead to happinessand#133;or disaster.

Fifty years later, Violetand#8217;s ultimate fate remains shrouded in mystery. But the more obsessively Vivian investigates her disappearing aunt, the more she realizes all they have in commonand#151;and that Violetand#8217;s secret life is about to collide with hers.

When twenty-something Wall Street analyst Kate Wilson attracts the notice of the legendary Julian Laurence at a business meeting, no oneandrsquo;s more surprised than she is. Julianandrsquo;s relentless energy and his extraordinary intellect electrify her, but sheandrsquo;s baffled by his sudden interest. Why would this handsome British billionaireandmdash;Manhattanandrsquo;s most eligible bachelorandmdash;pursue a pretty but bookish young banker who hasnandrsquo;t had a boyfriend since college?

The answer is beyond imagining . . . at least at first. Kate and Julianandrsquo;s story may have begun not in the moneyed world of twenty-first-century Manhattan but in France during World War I, when a mysterious American woman emerged from the shadows of the Western Front to save the life of Captain Julian Laurence Ashford, a celebrated war poet and infantry officer.

Now, in modern-day New York, Kate and Julian must protect themselves from the secrets of the past, and trust in a true love that transcends time and space.