Charlotte is born, motherless and into a life of tragedy and adventure. She is brought up by her uncaring aunt and uncle, inherits her grandmother's Parisian mansion in Avenue Foch, along with a priceless set of paintings - the Barrett Collection.

In her teens, Charlotte grows into a beautiful young woman. However, she is caught up in the invasion of Paris by the Nazis, and the occupation of her mansion by the SS. She meets a Turkish prostitute, Madam Theodora, and falls in love with a handsome SS officer, Jost Krupp.

Underlying all is Charlotte's traitorous uncle, Sir Jason Barrett, a senior British diplomat in Paris, who is head of a secret espionage organisation called WASP.

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Hugo Woolley was born in West Sussex. He is married to Pippa with two grown-up children. His mother was an eccentric picture restorer. His father a farmer and lawyer. As a dyslexic, he went to a myriad of schools, mainly because, in those days, dyslexia had hardly been invented, let alone treated. It was known as 'word-blindness' and dyslectics were thought to be 'simple' and below intelligence. How wrong they were!

Hugo is a caterer by training, ran various bars and restaurants in London before starting his own sandwich shops in the City of London in 1984 with his youngest brother, Oliver. In 1993 he opened designer sausage shops in Kent and Sussex, well before sausages became a fad. unfortunately, after just over a year of trading, he was badly injured in a car accident and was airlifted to hospital, where Hugo remained for eight months being glued back together. Whilst in hospital he started writing, mainly about his experience during 'my crippledom' - as he called it.

In 2002, when Hugo was mainly recovered, he and Pippa moved to Cornwall to run a B&B. He wrote and self-published various cook books onsandwiches, and then a book of breakfasts and brunch. For the past four years, Hugo has been writing an historical fiction trilogy - the Charlotte's War trilogy.

From Lovereading.co.uk:

Girl on a Golden Pillow is the first in an historical trilogy set before and during the second World War. Charlotte is born into a life of luxury and tragedy, surrounded by family members, some she can trust, others clearly, she can’t. As the Germans occupy Paris and Charlotte’s mansion, she has to learn quickly how to survive. At first somewhat naïve, she soon learns. In the background is the ever-ominous presence of her less than trustworthy uncle, Sir Jason Barrett.

As a fan of history in itself, I loved the way this book didn’t gloss over the more unpleasant parts of events that were happening at this time. The characters are excellent and believable. A very enjoyable read and I look forward to reading the next book in the trilogy.