Fallen for France: A Novel
Elizabeth Letts
(Ballantine Books, 2026)

This is the story of a magnificent horse, born in the Sultan of Morocco’s palace as World War I dawns. First loved and lost by a small Amazigh boy named Beddou, the mare is taken to France by a soldier while Beddou embarks on a quest to rescue her. Time and again, the horse touches the lives of people who are navigating the horrors and heartbreaks of war. Fallen for France is an epic tale of a horse who binds together people from different worlds, and an examination of the forgotten role of colonial soldiers in North Africa during the world's first truly global war.

This event is presented in partnership with Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice (SDARJ).

About the Author
A life-long lover and rider of horses, Elizabeth Letts writes narrative nonfiction and historical fiction, including The Eighty-Dollar Champion, The Perfect Horse, and Finding Dorothy. She studied history and nursing at Yale, went on to serve in the Peace Corps in Morocco, and later became a nurse-midwife. She lives in Maryland.

Purchase the book
Please help support local independent bookstores by purchasing this book at Browseabout Books, official bookseller of the History Book Festival. Online sources and digital versions are tempting; however, supporting local brick and mortar shops helps to preserve our vibrant main streets. Drop by Browseabout, order books online, or call the store at 302-226-2665. You also may purchase a copy at biblion in Lewes.

About the Festival
The History Book Festival is the first and only book festival in the United States devoted exclusively to history. With the help of our presenting funding partners — Delaware Humanities and The Lee Ann Wilkinson Group, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices | PenFed Realty — as well as our program and community partners, volunteers, and donors, the 2025 History Book Festival will be full of great discussions with authors of newly published narrative nonfiction and historical fiction. 

Thanks to all of our donors, especially our education and outreach funding partners: Ronald Collins & Susan Cohen, Carolyn & Aaron Nayer, Jen Mason & Clare Hancock, and Browseabout Books. HBF authors visit classrooms in Delaware, and HBF provides their books to schools, libraries, and community organizations.

Our Keynote event is presented by Griswold Home Care for Sussex and Kent Counties and Sally Mott Freeman & John K. Freeman; our Closing event is presented by the Delaware Community Foundation. Saturday’s Spirited Discussion, our gathering for attendees and presenters to celebrate and discuss their day, is presented by Dogfish Head Beer & Benevolence.

Special thanks to our Founding Program Partners for their continuing support: the Lewes Public Library, for event promotion and production, and Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach, official bookseller of the History Book Festival. Thanks also to the  Lewes Chamber of Commerce for event promotion, and the Cape Gazette and Delmarva Public Media, our media partners.