A heartwarming new novel from Danielle Steel, whose countless #1 <New York Times <bestselling novels have made her one of America’s favorite storytellers.

Autorentext

Danielle Steel has been hailed as one of the world’s bestselling authors, with a billion copies of her novels sold. Her many international bestsellers include A Mind of Her Own, Far From Home, Never Say Never, Trial by Fire, Triangle, Joy, Resurrection,  and other highly acclaimed novels. She is also the author of His Bright Light, the story of her son Nick Traina’s life and death; A Gift of Hope, a memoir of her work with the homeless; Expect a Miracle, a book of her favorite quotations for inspiration and comfort; Pure Joy, about the dogs she and her family have loved; and the children’s books Pretty Minnie in Paris and Pretty Minnie in Hollywood.

Klappentext

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A mother bestows a life-changing legacy on her five adult daughters in this profoundly moving novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel.

After the unexpected death of their mother, Felicia Morgan Weston, her five daughters are summoned to a historic Connecticut farmhouse for the reading of her will. Still reeling from shock, they hear revelations that will potentially change their lives—and they realize there was much more to their mother than they ever knew.

Charlotte, the oldest, always resented her mother’s advice, but now misses her terribly. An entrepreneur and single mother, she doesn’t dare hope for a second chance at love.

Although content with her career as a TV producer and her life with her partner in Greenwich Village, Quinne is about to have an opportunity to dream bigger.

Former ballet dancer Olivia has lived as a paraplegic since a car accident twelve years ago. Refusing to be a burden, she has denied herself the love of her life.

Despite her mother’s disapproval, Veronica resigned herself to a secret relationship with an ambitious married senator.

Happily married mother of three Isabelle has just found out that her husband is having an affair with his much younger intern.

Each sister is about to receive a gift beyond her wildest dreams from their very private but loving mother, who considered all her girls her favorites. Danielle Steel’s new novel is a moving testament to the power of a mother’s love and the importance of fully embracing life.

Zusammenfassung
A mother bestows a life-changing legacy on her five adult daughters in this profoundly moving novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Danielle Steel.

After the unexpected death of their mother, Felicia Morgan Weston, her five daughters are summoned to a historic Connecticut farmhouse for the reading of her will. Still reeling from shock, they hear revelations that will potentially change their lives—and they realize there was much more to their mother than they ever knew.

Charlotte, the oldest, always resented her mother’s advice, but now misses her terribly. An entrepreneur and single mother, she doesn’t dare hope for a second chance at love.

Although content with her career as a TV producer and her life with her partner in Greenwich Village, Quinne is about to have an opportunity to dream bigger.

Former ballet dancer Olivia has lived as a paraplegic since a car accident twelve years ago. Refusing to be a burden, she has denied herself the love of her life.

Despite her mother’s disapproval, Veronica resigned herself to a secret relationship with an ambitious married senator.

Happily married mother of three Isabelle has just found out that her husband is having an affair with his much younger intern.

Each sister is about to receive a gift beyond her wildest dreams from their very private but loving mother, who considered all her girls her favorites. Danielle Steel’s new novel is a moving testament to the power of a mother’s love and the importance of fully embracing life.

Leseprobe
Chapter 1

The identical letter reached each of the five recipients on the same day, according to Felicia Morgan Weston’s precise instructions. The day the letters were sent was the second of December, a month after her death. It was sent to her five daughters by her attorney, Scott Freeman, and said only that he had a letter written to them by their mother, she had written it six years before, at the same time she wrote her will, when she turned sixty. Scott wanted them to come to his office, so he could give them each their copy. He knew it contained some long-overdue explanations, which their mother was aware would shock them, or surprise them at best.

Felicia had been strong, busy, still beautiful, and in good health when she wrote the letter and her will, and nothing had changed when she died in a freak accident at sixty-six, a month before.

She had run in the New York marathon for twenty years. She did it every year to prove to herself that she could, and she prepared for it all year. It cleared her head, and gave her a feeling of accomplishment.

She was one of the victims of a deranged sniper who had opened fire on the runners with an assault rifle shortly after they crossed the starting line. She was the first of the nine people he killed. He injured eight more before the police shot and killed him.

Her daughters were devastated. They were all close to her, and their mother was the only family they had. Their father had died in a commercial airline crash when they were between two and ten years old. The three oldest girls, Charlotte, Quinne, and Olivia, still had a few vague memories of their father, but the two youngest, Veronica and Isabelle, had been too young to remember him. Felicia was thirty-four when she was widowed, her husband Bill Weston forty-four when he died. The plane crash was officially determined to be due to pilot error. As a result, the insurance payments to the families the passengers had left behind were enormous. They paid Felicia enough to assure her and her five daughters a reasonably comfortable life for twenty years, until her youngest daughter finished college. Felicia had never remarried and had been widowed for thirty-two years when she died.

Bill had worked as a literary agent at a major literary agency, and had a solid career. Felicia had worked as a junior editor in a publishing house before they married and had children. They had met at a party at the Frankfurt book fair, when a more senior editor got sick and dropped out. Felicia and Bill were both from New York and books were their passion. They dated for a year. She got pregnant almost immediately after their wedding and quit working when her first child Charlotte was born, and she stayed home after that. Bill was able to support them without her working.

His parents had been college professors and died before he did. He had inherited a small amount from them and sold their house on Long Island. The money they left was Bill and Felicia’s buffer for emergencies, and helped make it possible for Felicia to stay home with their children. The insurance money from the airline made it possible for her not to change their lifestyle after Bill’s death, but she was an intelligent woman, and looking into the future, insisted she she knew that the insurance wouldn’t last forever. She began thinking about getting a job a few years after Bill died. She went back to editing at a publishing house, which was the only profession she knew. Bill had often consulted her about his new literary clients, and he often shared manuscripts with her. He respected her opinions. She was a voracious reader, and had a good sense for finding people with undeveloped talent. He had often encouraged her to write herself but she brushed off the suggesti…