Books by Rupert Colley

Someone saves your life. How far will you go to repay the debt?A historical fiction novella.World War Two, summer, 1942, Nazi-occupied France. A nervous young man sits on a train; his simple mission – to deliver a message on behalf of the resistance. The Germans ask for his papers and his nerves give way. An older woman, sitting opposite, intervenes and rescues him from the clutches of the Gestapo.Paris, 1968. The young man is now the most successful music conductor in France; a household name throughout the land. Yet, he still wonders, 26 years on, why did the woman on the train intercede on his behalf? Without her, he knows his life would have turned out very differently. He owes her everything.Unexpectedly, in the midst of the ’68 Parisian riots, he receives a letter from her, begging him to come to her aid. Honour-bound, he gladly offers to return the favour. When he realises precisely what repaying his debt entails, he faces a dilemma that threatens to ruin his career. Torn between those he loves and his sense of honour, his life rapidly spirals out of control. Who exactly was The Woman on the Train?A WW2 / Holocaust novel from the founder of History In An Hour. Historical fiction with drama and heart.A novel that follows in the footsteps of Anthony Doerr's All the Light We Cannot See, Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale and Charles Belfoure's The Paris Architect. "Why haven't I heard of this man before? This is a little jewel box of historical fiction. The central premise is intriguing, the writing is crisp, and the story unfolds at pace.""Most intriguing, wonderful book. Everyone should read this.""Short, sharp and wonderful. Couldn't put it down.""What a ride... Colley takes you on more than a train ride with this story.Historical fiction with heart and drama.

When the ties of loyalty are severed, whom do you trust?World War Two. It is June 1940. France has surrendered and the Nazi German occupation begins. A small village in northern France awaits the arrival of a garrison of conquering Germans. To their dismay, 16-year-old Pierre and his parents, Georges and Sandrine, are forced to accommodate a German major, Major Hurtzberger. He is the enemy within their midst; the invader of their country, and, more pertinently, the unwanted lodger within their home. The problem, however, is that the German is annoyingly pleasant. The major, with a son of his own, empathises with Pierre in a way Georges has never been able to. Immediately the two of them find a bond, leaving Pierre confused and his understanding of good and bad, of black and white, shattered. But then, Georges, Pierre's father, is arrested by the Gestapo and taken away. Forced to confront the prejudices of others, as well as his own, Pierre has to ask where his loyalties lie, and who are his friends and who, exactly, is the enemy. Desperate to prove himself a man, Pierre is continually thwarted by those he trusts - his parents, the villagers and especially Claire, the girl he so desires. Pierre's quest brings to the fore a traumatic event in the family's past, a tragedy never forgotten but never mentioned. Only by confronting his trauma, can Pierre find the answer and prove he is a man in a country at war.From the founder of the History In An Hour series, comes another powerful work of WW2 historical fiction that will remain with you long after you've turned the final page."Really enjoyed this book. Loved the characters and their involvement in the story.""This is a book with difference. I will look for more books by this author.""Colley draws his characters with fine lines, illustrating both the brutality and compassion shown by individuals on both sides of this war.""Told with great poignancy."Historical fiction with heart and drama.

When love becomes your greatest enemyMoscow, 1935. Stalin is in power. People live in constant fear – fear of each other, fear of being denounced, and fear of Stalin’s secret police, the NKVD. Ordinary citizens live behind a mask – a public face that enables them to toe the Party line and conceal their true feelings and personal thoughts. One such citizen is thirty-year-old Maria. She has a past – the sort that, if known, would cost her her freedom. So monstrous her crime, she is forced to live a lie. Maria marries Petrov, a Party activist, not out of love, but as a means of forming a new identity, to escape her past. Her existence is safe – but dull. Until the day she meets Dmitry.Dmitry is an artist, whose work allows him a standard of living above the average Muscovite. But Dmitry feels straitjacketed by what he’s allowed to paint. Instead of the state approved rural idyll of his latest commission, he aspires to paint the female form. But when Maria offers to pose for him, he refuses – until he falls in love with her.Dmitry’s artistic aspirations and Maria’s yearning for a new life force them to risk everything in the name of love and freedom. The Black Maria is a novel about truth – the distortion of it, and the fear of it. And at the heart of the novel, is Maria’s brutal past. When love comes unexpectedly, it threatens to expose the truth and destroy her.“I'm seriously in awe. It's a remarkable piece of historical fiction. It's dark, gritty, and really quite disturbing. And heartbreaking at the same time. A brilliant achievement!” “A disquieting, well-told tale in which the author delves deeply and effectively into the minds of his characters. Is it entertaining? Yes. You'll be glad you read this novel.”“Hard-hitting, dark and, at times, unpalatable. It is also honest.”“I don't recall being quite as thoroughly chilled by Solzhenitsyn's works as I was with Rupert Colley's The Black Maria.”“Wonderfully written, this is a novel that lives long in the memory. Highly recommended.”“An absorbing if confronting read, and stayed with me long after I'd finished it.”Rupert Colley is the founder, editor and writer of the highly successful History In An Hour series of ebooks and audio, published by HarperCollins. Historical fiction with heart and drama.