***SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 ROMANTIC NOVEL AWARDS***'Luminous and penetrating' Paula McLainA heart-rending historical romance. Poet, atheist, and communist, New Yorker Joy Davidman is an unconventional woman--and an unlikely partner for an English academic and theologian. And when she starts a correspondence with Narnia author C.S. Lewis, she isn't looking for love. Her own marriage crumbling, she seeks refuge in her work and guidance from a writer she admires.But in Joy's letters Lewis discovers a kindred spirit and an intellect to equal his own.Bonding over a shared love of literature and ideas, a deep connection is forged between the two.Embarking on the adventure of a lifetime, Joy travels from America to England and back again.Facing heartbreak and poverty, discovering friendship and faith, against all the odds, the couple struggle to secure a love that will endure forever.