Giveaway: 22 Britannia Road

22 Britannia Road is a harrowing and gripping tale about the lengths a mother will go through to protect her child.
A wrenching story of WWII and its affect on families, 22 Britannia Road is most touching in its depiction of one couple’s desperate desire to create a home in the aftermath of war when neither can quite remember what home is. Echoing books like of Suite Française, 22 Britannia Road is sure to become a modern classic in its own right. Silvana has not seen her husband Janusz for six years, since the beginning of WWII when she boards a ship that will take her from Poland to England with their eight-year-old son Aurek. Asked for her occupation, “housekeeper or housewife?,”  Silvana first responds softly, “survivor,” and then settles for “housewife” reluctantly. Having spent much of the war hiding in the forest of Poland, Silvana and Aurek will face culture shock when they arrive in England.

Meanwhile, in small-town England, Janusz prepares for his wife and son’s arrival. He sets up a little house at 22 Britannia Road and starts a quaint English garden. An Englishman now, Janusz wants to forget the war, his memories of both his own bravery and his shameful cowardice. With the sweet albeit awkward reuniting, Silvana and Aurek enter their new life. But the six years apart have changed all of them. A lifetime without a father and a wild, almost feral existence in the woods of Poland has made Aurek suspicious of this man who expects him to sleep apart from his mother, and he begins to think of Janusz as “the enemy.” Janusz still has the letters from a love in France that he cannot forget. Silvana is skittish and struggles to play the role of proper English housewife, and the shattering secret she keeps—an act permissible in the midst of war but unthinkable during peacetime—stands between husband and wife. When the dashing father of Aurek’s only friend shows up and makes Silvana feel like a woman again for the first time since the war began, the charade of contented family on Britannia Road comes crashing down.

Amanda Hodgkinson was born in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, England and grew up in a small fishing village in East Anglia. She currently lives in an old stone farmhouse in the south-west of France with her husband, two daughters, some chickens and two cats. This is her first novel. It went on sale this week.Her publisher,

Pamela Dorman Books/Viking,  has kindly provided me a review copy - it's next in the queue- and I can tell you I am itching to get to this one.  It fits right in with several excellent  novels I'm reading set in World War II.  Amanda's website is fantastic and gives us a wonderful picture of who she is, how she came to write this story, and makes you just want to run to get a copy.Sonya Cheuse, the publicity manager for Viking/Penguin has generously made a copy available for a giveaway.  Believe me, this is one you're going to want to read.  So here are the rules for the giveaway:For each entry, please leave a separate comment.  BE SURE TO LEAVE YOUR EMAIL address in your comment.  NO EMAIL, No winner.

1.  Leave me a comment telling me something interesting you found on Amanda's website about the author.
2.  Leave another comment telling me something interesting you read on Amanda's news page on the web site.
3.  Be a follower of Tutu and tell me how you follow (GFC, RSS feed, etc.)
4.  Post this on your blog (sidebars OK) and leave me a link to the post.
5.  Come back sometime on May 19th or 20th and leave another comment for an extra entry.
6.  Deadline is May 21st - 11:59PM.  Drawing on Sunday May 22nd.
7.  US addressess only, no PO Boxes.

Good luck!!