Lelita Baldock is an award-winning author of historical fiction.

Lelita's latest novel, The Keeper of Lost Art , is OUT NOW through Amazon

She is also the author of The Girl Who Crossed Mountains  OUT NOW through Amazon and The Baker's Secret, Get your copy through Amazon today.

Born and raised in Australia, Lelita holds a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English Literature and History, from the University of Adelaide, making the transition to author of historical fiction a natural fit.

She loves all things reading and writing, and when not researching and laying down words for a novel can be found with a good book and an icy white wine in hand. Read more...

Sign up to her newsletter to stay in touch

The Keeper of Lost Art

OUT NOW

She lifts the book from the suitcase, gently unwraps it and breathes a heavy sigh of relief. She has made it. The book is safely hidden. But at what cost?

Bari, Italy. 1943. Twenty-year-old Siena knocks on a stranger's door with trembling hands. Her journey from Rome has left her exhausted and afraid, but after her friends were taken away, she had no choice but to flee. Hidden within her suitcase lies the reason for her desperate flight – a tattered leather-bound ledger, its pages filled with secrets Siena will risk her life to protect.

When Alessia opens the door, Siena sees a woman bearing the weight of caring for her family while her father fights at the front. Siena hands over a scrap of paper – a watercolour sketch of Bari harbour – and watches recognition flicker across Alessia's face. Despite rations being low, she knows Alessia cannot refuse her.

As bombs devastate the cobbled streets of Bari, the two women slowly learn to trust each other. But Siena isn't the only one keeping secrets, and her connection with Alessia runs deeper than either realises. Long ago, in a different world, impossible choices were made. As the war rages, the truth will be uncovered, like a hidden masterpiece finally brought into the light…

A profoundly moving and evocative tale of love, sacrifice, and the power of art in the darkest of times. Perfect for readers of Kristin Hannah, Fiona Valpy and Fiona Davis.

The Girl Who Crossed Mountains

OUT NOW

San Sebastian, 1936. Abene García, a fisherman’s daughter, must make a terrible choice: risk being caught in the crossfires of the escalating Spanish Civil War or abandon her seaside home and make the perilous journey across the Pyrenees to the border of France. But the safety she finds on the other side of the mountains is shattered when the Nazis enter the country. Abene won’t stand by and do nothing while innocent Jewish men, women and children are in desperate need – not when she knows a way to escape.

Abene has crossed the mountains before, and she knows the dangers. Joining the resistance network, she helps to set up a route across the mountains. But when her safe house is discovered, a group of injured Allied soldiers is shot down, except for one – a Canadian pilot too sick to make the crossing alone. Abene knows what she must do. She will cross the mountains once again, back to the home she left years before, where her journey truly began, and many dangers remain…

Perfect for fans of Kristin Hannah, Kelly Rimmer and Fiona Valpy, The Girl Who Crossed Mountains is an extraordinary tale of survival, family bonds and the power of love to persevere against all odds.
 

Read more

The Baker's Secret

OUT NOW

In Nazi-occupied Latvia, two sisters are forced to make an impossible choice. To save a child, one sister must flee, while the other must stay behind. The secret of what happens next will endure for generations. But the truth won’t stay hidden forever…

An emotional and heartbreaking tale of sacrifice, courage and love that spotlights the resilience of women in the Second World War. Perfect for readers of Kristin Hannah, Fiona Valpy and Kelly Rimmer.

Read more