The Dictator's Wife: A mesmerising novel of deception and BBC 2 Between the Covers Book Club pick

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Yet, in reality, Elena's success was a fiction. Her reputation was falsely built up thanks to a fraudulent PhD, appointments to Central Committee positions, and extensive propaganda—all helped along by the intervention of the Securitate, Romania's brutal secret police. The path to prestige As Behr explains in his history of the Ceaucescus' reign of terror, Mircea Corcioveci, one of the top scientists at the Institute, eventually discovered that Elena "didn't know what a chromatograph was and didn't recognize the formula for sulfuric acid," which was "taught to first-year chemistry students" (141). Ultimately, she became Chair of the National Council for Science and Technology and controlled all scientific research in the country, although she knew nothing about it. First ladies’ fashion choices are scrutinised in ways that would be unthinkable for their besuited husbands beyond their choice of tie colour. Conversely, not much ink has been spilled on the wardrobe choices of Doug Emhoff, second gentleman and spouse of Vice-President Kamala Harris. In 1993 A team of lawyers from England fly in to represent Popa's widow, Marija. The revolution has happened and the people want to know if she knew what her husband was doing for her to steal her wealth from the people. She's facing the death penalty. Laura (one of the lawyers) and her parents fled Yanussia so this is a personal case for her, once she gets to know Marija it becomes even more so... I loved the main character of Marija. She is stunning; a glamorous woman who stands out among her peers and everything about her exudes confidence. Her dark side, which comes out more and more as the story progresses, will leave the reader feeling chilled to the bone. The dynamics of Marija and Laura’s relationship and its development throughout the book are fascinating and equally disturbing. All the other characters, with the exception of Marija’s sister, fall away in comparison and are really insignificant to the story when compared to the two female protagonists.

Laura's own family hides Yanussian secrets, her loyalties are tested, her own instincts alert to deception. Her findings will impact many, including her own kin. Her interest in chemistry arose when she was briefly employed in a laboratory. In her free time, she attended meetings of the Youth Communists' League, where she met her soon-to-be husband Nicolae. She failed nearly every subject that was taught in Romanian schools. Marija is clearly glamorous, powerful, and very charismatic, but throughout she refers to herself as 'only a woman'.The writing is beautiful, there is a grace and elegance to the prose that is stunning, and this alone made the book an absolute a joy to read. However, there is much, much more to this book than just incredible prose, the plot is compelling. Along with following the main storyline in the present day, I loved how connected the narrator's own past and home life was with her work life. It added another dimension to the story and gave it even more mystery. Especially towards the end when plot twists and coming forward left right and centre, it really made for a well rounded and satisfying ending to the novel in my opinion. A gripping, intelligent, utterly-of-the-moment thriller’EMMA STONEX, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Lamplighters

I have always had questions about the wives and children of world leaders and figures throughout history that have held distatorships but none more prominent in my mmind than how much did their wives really know and/or agree with their policies and reigns of terror and for that reason this book was so thought provoking and intrinsincly fascinating. There were moments that were truly heartwrenching and yet there were also moments of love. Berry read about another striking example in the Middle East: Asma al-Assad, wife of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad, now widely considered a war criminal. In 2011 she was featured on the cover of Vogue magazine with the headline “A Rose in the Desert”, and a fawning profile that began: “Asma al-Assad is glamorous, young and very chic – the freshest and most magnetic of first ladies.” A captivating story of women's power, love and secrets. As timely and profound as it is unforgettable. The ending left me breathless' LARA PRESCOTT, New York Times bestselling author of The Secrets We Kept Elena Ceausescu receiving a honorary doctorate from the University of Buenos Aires in 1974. Source: Online Photo Library of Romanian CommunismMy debut novel follows a captivating dictator's wife standing trial for her dead husband's crimes in post-communist eastern Europe, and the web of lies she weaves around the young female lawyer defending her. In 1975, she was awarded Doctor Honoris Causa at both the University of Tehran and Jordan University in Amman. Later, the University of Manila awarded Elena with an honorary doctorate thanks to a large donation that the Ceausescus made during a trip to the Philippines. Elena never admitted to any research malpractice and insisted that institutions really wanted to grant her recognition for her scholarly work. The Dictator’s Wife, Marija Popa, faces the death penalty for the crimes of her husband, who can’t stand trial himself, as he was brutally murdered. Set in the fictional country Yanussia, Marija hires defence lawyers from London to help her fight her case. In comes Laura - who is a Yanussia born lawyer along with her boss to try and save Marija from the noose. A captivating story of women's power, love and secrets. As timely and profound as it is unforgettable. The ending left me breathless'-- LARA PRESCOTT, New York Times bestselling author of The Secrets We Kept

I know the phrase “will have you reading long into the night” gets thrown about an awful lot, but it is completely true for this book. Behr, Edward. Kiss the Hand You Cannot Bite: The Rise and Fall of the Ceausescus. Edited by P. Gethers, Villard Books, 1991.She isn’t a person, she’s a puppeteer. She discovers what you are, what you can and cannot bear, and uses it.’

Imelda’s quite hard not to like, no matter what you think of her pretty dubious politics. So I did feel an unnerving amount of sympathy, which you have to as a novelist: you can’t just go in with that hardheaded, judgmental approach. I wanted my character, Marija, to be ambiguous, this enchanting spider at the novel’s heart. I wanted you to be a bit seduced by Marija at the same time as being probably a bit repelled or afraid of her.” She cites the recent news of Melania Trump launching a non-fungible token (NFT) – a watercolour depicting her eyes. “She called it ‘an amulet to inspire’ and I thought that was actually a perfect representation of Melania’s time in power because it’s a thing, but it’s not a thing. It’s not something you can touch. It’s a representation, an empty emblem, a hollow image, and that felt like a microcosm of her time as first lady,” explains Berry. A fascinating exploration of absolute power, female agency and the complexities of complicity. Atmospheric, claustrophobic and so elegantly written'-- ELLERY LLOYD A gripping, intelligent, utterly-of-the-moment thriller’EMMA STONEX, bestselling author of The Lamplighters It continued: “She’s a rare combination: a thin, long-limbed beauty with a trained analytic mind who dresses with cunning understatement. Paris Match calls her ‘the element of light in a country full of shadow zones’. She is the first lady of Syria.”

This is very different from most books around at the moment, which makes it a refreshing read. I would thoroughly recommend this book, it will make you really think about the structures of power and how it can, and is, abused. To the broader wo The beautiful, enigmatic wife of a feared dictator stands trial for her late husband's crimes against the people. The world will finally know the truth. But whose?