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

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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 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.Naturally, Elena sought what was probably the most prestigious scientific honor in Europe: membership in Britain's Royal Society. The ability to add FRS after her name certainly appealed to her, considering her already lengthy list of titles. Prior to attending an official visit to the UK, the Ceausescus solicited the Royal Society, as well as Oxford and Cambridge, for honors. In his inaugural speech, Bashar vowed to fight corruption and allow genuine multi-party elections. Soon after, he closed one of the country’s biggest prisons. In the cafés of Damascus, people cautiously began to discuss politics. 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.” Home life was miserable. “They hated her,” said Ayman Abdel Nour, an adviser to Bashar at the time. “They kept her inside the house for years.” Asma was not yet fluent in Arabic. When the family gathered for meals they made a point of conversing in their impenetrable Alawite patois. Among those who did well out of Asma’s rise was her own father, Fawaz Akhras. Soon after Asma married Bashar, Akhras established the British-Syrian Society, an organisation in London that drummed up political and financial support for Syria. He co-ordinated the society’s activities with Asma’s organisation, attracting a crowd of rich Syrians.

In Romanian academia, plagiarism is rampant, as is nepotism,” he says. “Sloppy science is ubiquitous, [much of it] a consequence of Elena Ceaușescu’s nefarious and outsized influence in the 70s and 80s.” Many Syrians were intoxicated by what they saw, but fear inhibited most from coming onto the streets. Then, one night in February in a drab agricultural town called Deraa, south of Damascus, a group of schoolchildren sprayed graffiti on a wall: “It’s your turn next, doctor.” The plot twists were strong and the entire read felt like whirlwind. I can't lie, I did read in one sitting because I couldn't bare to put the book down. The emotional trauma of the protagonist, the manipulation of the accused and the deep-rooted betrayal could easily be taken out of the book and applied to so many external, real-world scenarios. I love a good historical fiction. I definitely recommend.Young lawyer Laura Lăzărescu has been assigned to a high-profile case that could make her career. Having grown up in England as the child of immigrants, she’s completely disconnected from her family’s heritage, but with the trial taking place in her parents’ homeland of Yanussia, Laura hopes she can finally find answers to the questions that have been plaguing her for years. Why did her parents flee Yanussia when she was a child? What was so terrible that it left both of them – particular Laura’s once-vibrant mother – traumatised and unable to show their only daughter love? And why did they erase every connection to their homeland, forcing Laura to feel unmoored in her own home? Ion Mihai Pacepa, the former head of Romania’s intelligence service, who defected in 1978, wrote in his 1987 book Red Horizons that Ceaușescu demanded he arrange for universities in New York and Washington to award her honorary titles. In her heyday Popa, we are told, introduced an all-female staff to her factory long before “girl power” became a rallying cry. She palled around with Ronald Reagan, Paul Newman and Saddam Hussein, and was a particular favourite of the British queen. She is described as “a hypnotic blend of Joan of Arc and Imelda Marcos; both goddess and she-devil, princess and tyrant, martyr and uber-bitch”. A fascinating exploration of absolute power, female agency and the complexities of complicity. Atmospheric, claustrophobic and so elegantly written' - ELLERY LLOYD