Aria acquires three from Suzanne Fortin

Head of Zeus imprint Aria will publish three novels from Suzanne Fortin, with The Forgotten Life of Arthur Pettinger to be released on 4th March 2021.

Editorial director Hannah Smith acquired world English rights from Hattie Grunewald at The Blair Partnership.

Set across two timelines, one in the present day and the other during the Second World War, The Forgotten Life of Arthur Pettinger will follow the Pettinger family as Maddie moves home to look after her grandfather who is slipping further into Alzheimer’s. As he forgets those around him, Arthur begins to fixate on his life in the war – and the woman he never forgot, Maryse. When a video of Arthur asking about Maryse goes viral, a hunt begins to track down the woman time has forgotten, and Maddie begins to uncover a life she never knew her grandfather had lived. 

Smith said: "From the moment I read the first page I was completely consumed by Arthur’s journey. Sue has conjured an incredibly evocative, emotional, page-turning novel here and I cannot wait to bring this book to readers. As a massive fan of historical and dual-timeline fiction I can honestly say it’s a testament to the genre."

Fortin commented: "I’m thrilled to have signed a contract with Aria for my women’s fiction book, The Forgotten Life of Arthur Pettinger and two further titles. Having received such a fabulous response from Hannah, I knew it had found the perfect home and I’m very much looking forward to being part of Aria Fiction."

Fortin also writes psychological thrillers for HarperCollins, as Sue Fortin, including The Dead Wife (2019) and Sister Sister (2017).