BELFAST — Left Bank Books, in downtown Belfast, invites the public to a free talk and book signing by Ann Hood, author of eleven books, on Thursday, August 8, at 6:30 p.m., at the shop. The event is a celebration of Hood’s most recent novel, The Stolen Child.

“Ranging across continents and decades, The Stolen Child artfully braids elements of historical fiction and mystery with travel and romance, creating an instant literary classic,” said Left Bank, in a news release.

Hood chronicles three characters as they unearth secrets long buried in the trenches of World War 1 and, to their surprise, in their own family trees.

Hood sets her story in 1974 when an elderly Rhode Island man enlists the help of a young college dropout to find answer to and make amends for his actions during World War I, when a French artist gave him her baby and her paintings — only to disappear. The story is told in chapters that alternate among the perspectives of the three main characters.

Kirkus Reviews writes: “Of particular note are Hood’s detailed descriptions of the different historical settings (Paris, small-town France, Rome, Tuscany, Naples), which feel rooted in research and heighten the authenticity of the narrative. A well-crafted, fast-paced story about how a single encounter can shape a person’s whole life.”

Hood has written four memoirs, among them Comfort: A Journey Through Grief and Fly Girl; six previous novels including Somewhere off the Coast of Maine and The Book That Matters Most. She has also edited a new nonfiction book that will be released this November: Life’s Short, Talk Fast: Fifteen Writers on Why We Can’t Stop Watching Gilmore Girls. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Paris Review, O, Bon Appetit, Tin House, The Atlantic Monthly, and Real Simple. She has won two Pushcart Prizes and two Best American Food Writing Awards.

Reservations are strongly recommended for this event. Call 207-338-9009 or email info@leftbankbookshop.com.

Left Bank Books is located at 109 Church Street in downtown Belfast, and there’s ample, free parking in front of the shop and in an adjacent city lot.