The White Octopus Hotel: SHORTLISTED FOR THE RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB AWARD 2026

Journey to a magical hotel in the Swiss Alps in this spellbinding historical romance blending mystery, art, romance and time travel.

BEHIND EVERY DOOR, A SECOND CHANCE

‘Have you travelled a long way?’ she asked carefully.
A smile twitched at the corner of his mouth. ‘Well, yes,” he said slowly. ‘Yes, you could say that. But it was worth the wait.’

London, 2015

When reclusive art appraiser Eve Shaw shakes the hand of a silver-haired gentleman in her London office, the warmth of his palm sends a spark through her.

His name is Max Everly – curiously, the same name as Eve’s favourite composer, born one hundred sixteen years prior. And she can’t shake the feeling that she’s held his hand before . . . but where, and when?

The White Octopus Hotel, 1935

Decades earlier, high in the snowy Swiss Alps, Eve and a young Max Everly wander the winding halls of the grand belle epoque White Octopus Hotel, lost in time.

Each of them has been through the trenches – Eve in a family accident and Max on the battlefields of the Great War – but for an impossible moment, love and healing are just a room away . . . if only they have the courage to step through the door.

'A captivating tapestry of love, tragedy, and time.' Cassandra Clare, bestselling author of Swordcatcher
'An exquisite, fantastical puzzle box of a novel.' Kelly Link, bestselling author of The Book of Love
'Beautiful and bittersweet time travel fantasy' Publishers' Weekly

© Alexandra Bell 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025