The Seamstress

　　★攻佔《紐約時報》排行榜，橫掃西班牙書市，蟬聯三年暢銷No.1
　　★全球銷售突破2,500,000冊，諾貝爾文學獎得主略薩Mario Vargas Llosa極力推崇的文學新高峰

　　在烽火離亂、愛情財富地位都朝不保夕的二戰前夕，
　　她唯一能對抗時間淹沒人生的方式，就是不斷地縫下去……
　　即使不能在歷史上留下名字，也要證明自己曾真實地活過。

　　一個把針線作為武器的女子，一段熱烈、激情、戰慄且神秘的地中海傳奇──

　　天真爛漫的少女希拉，在結婚前夕，和未婚夫走向一家打字機專賣店，推開門，她的命運瞬間徹底改變。
　　
　　1936年，西班牙烽火連天，希拉帶著裁縫師和秘密情報員的雙重身份，遊走三個國家、五個城市，潛入黑幫走私，投身桃色交易……這一路上，她失去珍愛她的、不得不放棄她所愛的，甚至無數次被自己的選擇背叛。隨著故事一頁頁展開，整個地中海都成為她的舞台，而政治、諜戰、陰謀、冒險竟也與她難分難解……

　　暗伏在時代的軌跡下，以小說織出歷史的真面目──

　　《時間裁縫師》整個故事橫跨十餘年，作者對西班牙、摩洛哥整個地中海沿岸深刻且細膩的描繪，讓人彷彿親臨直布羅陀海峽兩岸截然不同的年代時景──西班牙在內戰的炮火下滿目瘡痍，摩洛哥卻豐富迷人，充滿激情、炙熱和肉慾蠢蠢欲動的異國風情；而二十世紀初那段狂躁的歐洲歷史，更隱身在希拉的腳印之下，形成本書暗伏的重要準軸。希拉以高級服裝師偽裝下的秘密情報員身份，揭露西班牙將軍佛朗哥、二戰同盟國和軸心國等所有時代暗潮下高潮起伏、虛實相交的秘事。許多情景皆來自史料記載，書中角色則好似歷史上沒有被記錄下來的人物，雖然被淹沒於記載中，卻在小說裡和真實人物一起參與重大歷史事件，帶給我們栩栩如生的感覺──明知是虛構的，卻彷彿真的發生過。讓人不僅為書中角色動情，也被那些歷史人物所感動；而作者從歷史的細節捕捉靈感，也使這部小說成為不朽的時間檔案。

　　透過作者和書中角色的一針一線、一步一印，彷彿填補了戰爭殘缺的面貌，彰顯那個年代女性在亂世下的掙扎、犧牲與努力，就像在隱約告訴我們：生命中有這麼多缺口，正是我們縫補發揮的最好時機；就如希拉，用每一次的決心，即使是一個錯判，去車過這些裂縫，也終能車出一生漫天烽火下的絕世美景。

　　The inspiring international bestseller of a seemingly ordinary woman who uses her talent and courage to transform herself first into a prestigious couturier and then into an undercover agent for the Allies during World War II

　　Between Youth and Adulthood . . .

　　At age twelve, Sira Quiroga sweeps the atelier floors where her single mother works as a seamstress. At fourteen, she quietly begins her own apprenticeship. By her early twenties she has learned the ropes of the business and is engaged to a modest government clerk. But everything changes when two charismatic men burst unexpectedly into her neatly mapped-out life: an attractive salesman and the father she never knew.

　　Between War and Peace . . .

　　With the Spanish Civil War brewing in Madrid, Sira leaves her mother and her fiance, impetuously following her handsome lover to Morocco. However, she soon finds herself abandoned, penniless, and heartbroken in an exotic land. Among the odd collection of European expatriates trapped there by the worsening political situation back on the Continent, Sira reinvents herself by turning to the one skill that can save her: her gift for creating beautiful clothes.

　　Between Love and Duty . . .

　　As England, Germany, and the other great powers launch into the dire conflict of World War II, Sira is persuaded to return to Madrid, where she takes on a new identity to embark upon the most dangerous undertaking of her career. As the preeminent couturier for an eager clientele of Nazi officers' wives, Sira becomes embroiled in the half-lit world of espionage and political conspiracy rife with love, intrigue, and betrayal.

　　Already a runaway bestseller across Europe, The Time In Between is one of those rare, richly textured novels that enthrall down to the last page. Maria Duenas reminds us how it feels to be swept away by a masterful storyteller.

　　★本書西班牙原文書名為El Tiempo Entre Costuras
　　★本書美國版書名為The Time in Between，於英國出版時書名定為The Seamstress
　　★本書中譯版《時間裁縫師》由高寶出版。

作者簡介

瑪麗亞．杜埃尼亞斯 Maria Duenas

　　1964年出生，英語語言學博士，曾在北美大學執教，現任穆爾西亞大學教授，目前居住在西班牙卡塔赫納。《時間裁縫師》是她的第一部小說，在沒有任何行銷宣傳的情況下，這部新人處女作憑著小說自身的魅力，受到讀者熱情追捧，僅在西班牙的銷量就超過250萬冊，並已被翻譯成20多種語言在全球發行。

　　Maria Duenas holds a PhD in English Philology and is currently a professor at the University of Murcia. She has also taught at American universities, is the author of several academic articles, and has participated in various educational, cultural, and editorial projects. She is currently writing her second novel.