What is the title of your latest release?
THE LOST CHATEAU
What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book?
A Chateau reveals its secrets: stories of forbidden love, devastating betrayal, and a child who vanished years ago.
How did you decide where your book was going to take place?
The Dordogne in France is a timeless region packed with Chateaux dripping with historical secrets. During a visit there I knew it would be the perfect place to set my story of love, moral dilemma, and mystery.
Would you hang out with your heroine in real life?
Absolutely. I always feel as if I am hanging out with my characters as I write, and I miss them when a book is finished. It would be fun to gather the heroines from all my books and sit them down with me, plus a few bottles of wine, good food, music. Let the conversation flow!
What are three words that describe your heroine?
Brave, passionate, resilient.
What’s something you learned while writing this book?
That female resilience is a consistent theme in my novels and this one is no exception.
Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done?
I do a bit of both as and when ideas occur to me.
What’s your favorite foodie indulgence?
An almond croissant – very French. And I get them from the local French Artisan bakery.
Describe your writing space/office!
A big untidy writing room at the bottom of the garden. It’s peaceful and private and it’s all mine!
Who is an author you admire?
Taylor Jenkins Reid especially her novel, ATMOSPHERE. But all her books are very special. I also like Emily Henry for her witty banter, relatable characters, and unexpected emotional depth.
Is there a book that changed your life?
Not really, though growing up I loved JANE EYRE and WUTHERING HEIGHTS and later my favorite was the unforgettable REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier. These books shaped my experience of being totally immersed in the world of a novel and therefore I try to recreate that feeling for my readers,
Tell us about when you got “the call.” (when you found out your book was going to be published). Or, for indie authors, when you decided to self-publish.
THE LOST CHATEAU is my 12th book and the second in a three-book deal so there wasn’t a ‘call’ as such. But when I got the call that Penguin were going to publish my first book, I could barely speak. And before that, when my agent called to say “I’d love to represent you,” I burst into tears. It isn’t easy to get an agent and for me it was the start of everything.
What’s your favorite genre to read?
Mystery, drama, family secrets, Love.
What’s your favorite movie?
It’s an oldie, but I adored it and watched so many times, A Passage to India (1984) It made me desperate to go to India one day and about 30 years later I did go!
What is your favorite season?
Spring. That lovely feeling of fresh new beginnings with the warmth of summer still to come.
How do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Fish pie, bubbles, and chocolate cake with the family.
What’s a recent tv show/movie/book/podcast you highly recommend?
The Other Bennet Sister, Young Sherlock, A Woman of Substance – all are tv series.
What’s your favorite type of cuisine?
French regional or Italian.
What do you do when you have free time?
Walking, listening to audiobooks. Making notes for new story ideas, most of which never happen.
What can readers expect from you next?
An explosive Edwardian drama set between 1902 and 1909 exploring a clash of worlds as a family navigates the transition from the heat of India to a chilly manor house in The Cotswolds, England, where the family face life-changing challenges, only resolved by a move to the sunlit French Riviera.
THE LOST CHATEAU by Dinah Jefferies
escape to southern France with this emotional and sweeping new novel from the Sunday Times bestselling author
A secret lies behind every door…
The Dordogne, 1936
Amid tangled gardens and crumbling walls, Chateau Rousseau guards its secrets well.
Pushing open its faded door, Thirza Caruthers arrives to care for her great-aunt. She’s made a promise – unaware of what awaits.
As the skies darken above Europe, the chateau begins to reveal its secrets: stories of forbidden love, devastating betrayal, and a child who vanished years ago.
But in uncovering the truth, Thirza may lose herself forever.
Women’s Fiction Family Life | Women’s Fiction Historical [ HarperCollins, On Sale: June 30, 2026, Paperback / e-Book / audiobook, ISBN: 9780008612078 / eISBN: 9780008612085 ]
A neglected house ties the strands of a family story
Buy THE LOST CHATEAU: Amazon.com | Kindle | BN.com | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play | Books-A-Million | Indie BookShops | Ripped Bodice | Libro.fm | Audible | Walmart.com | Amazon CA | Amazon UK | Amazon DE | Amazon FR
About Dinah Jefferies
Dinah was born in Malaya in 1948 and moved to England at the age of nine. In 1985, the sudden death of her fourteen year old son changed the course of her life, and deeply influenced her writing. Dinah drew on that experience, and on her own childhood spent in Malaya during the 1950s to write her debut novel, The Separation. Now living in Gloucestershire with her husband and their Norfolk terrier, she spends her days writing, with time off with her grandchildren.
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