Publication Date: August 11, 2026
An epic, emotionally charged novel about love, art, and survival spanning 1900s colonial India to Blitz-era London by the USA Today bestselling author of When We Believed in Mermaids.
In the shadow of the London Blitz, artist Elsie Turner clings fiercely to her canvases, refusing to let war dim the colors that define her. The bombs test her nerve, but the struggle also stirs memories of her golden youth in India and of the long-lost love of her life.
The daughter of a British civil servant in the Himalayan station of Nainital, Elsie crosses cultural divides to forge an unlikely bond with Tanveer Singh, a Sikh prince with hopes, dreams, and far-reaching ideas. What begins as shared sketchbooks and stargazing becomes first love and a secret correspondence. When Elsie’s father is summoned to England, Elsie is severed from the world she knows—and is determined to preserve it through both her art and a connection with Tanveer that endures through the most tumultuous years of their lives.
Across four decades and two continents, Elsie navigates a journey from lush colonial India to war-torn London, amid landscapes of beauty, protest, and peril. As past and present collide, the most impossible choices and sacrifices are yet to be made in the name of love, war, and survival.
© 2026 by Barbara Samuel, all rights reserved.
Sometimes a book comes along that will effortlessly transport you to another place and time.
Author Barbara O’Neal uses the four decades leading up to World War II and two continents to deliver A Thousand Painted Hours.
In the midst of the London Blitz, artist Elsie Turner reflects on the passionate days of her youth in India leading up to a relationship with a Sikh prince. She and Tanveer share a common interest in art, but a cultural divide forces them apart.
Through letters, the past comes to life and mixes with the present, proving that destiny knows no boundaries. With well-developed characters and an interesting plot, the author easily maintains momentum throughout the more than 500 pages.
A Thousand Painted Hours delivers a love story strong enough to withstand distance and time itself.
Barbara O’Neal is the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Amazon Charts bestselling author of nearly twenty novels of women’s fiction, including the #1 Amazon Charts bestseller When We Believed in Mermaids, as well as Memories of the Lost, This Place of Wonder, and The Starfish Sisters. Her award-winning books have been published in over two dozen countries. She lives on the wild Oregon Coast with her husband, a British endurance athlete who vows he’ll never lose his accent.
