Standalone Novels
| Title | Published | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| The Time in Between / The Seamstress | 2009 | Buy |
| The Heart Has Its Reasons | 2012 | Buy |
| The Vineyard | 2015 | Buy |
| Sira | 2023 | Buy |
Maria Duenas (born 1964 in Puertollano, Spain) is a Spanish novelist and professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Murcia. Her debut novel, El tiempo entre costuras (published in English as The Time in Between and The Seamstress), became a massive bestseller in Spain in 2009, selling over a million copies and getting translated into more than 25 languages.
The Time in Between tells the story of Sira Quiroga, a Madrid seamstress who follows her lover to Morocco in 1936, only to be abandoned and left destitute. She builds a new life as a couturier and is eventually recruited for espionage work during World War II. The novel was adapted into a Spanish television series in 2013, often compared to Downton Abbey for its period detail and popular appeal.
Duenas has published three more novels: The Heart Has Its Reasons (2012), The Vineyard (2015), and Sira (2023), which returns to the protagonist of her debut. All four books combine historical settings with stories of women navigating difficult circumstances.