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Carnations in Lisbon
In 1974 a revolution in Portugal ended one of the longest dictatorships in Europe. It was unique in being a bloodless coup where soldiers placed carnations in their rifles instead of firing bullets, to show that they were ushering in a new era of peace.
This book interweaves the stories of passion, romance, and betrayal of young dissidents who fought for freedom from the tyrannical regime, and of their descendants half a century later. The several plots all touch on a contested family will, which uncovers surprises for some of the characters about their true heritage, and traces the enduring impact on lives, losses and loyalty, all changed with unexpected consequences by the regime.
This book interweaves the stories of passion, romance, and betrayal of young dissidents who fought for freedom from the tyrannical regime, and of their descendants half a century later. The several plots all touch on a contested family will, which uncovers surprises for some of the characters about their true heritage, and traces the enduring impact on lives, losses and loyalty, all changed with unexpected consequences by the regime.
350 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 1, 2025
2 people are currently reading
11 people want to read
About the author
C. A. Wilson
1 bookCarol Wilson writes business psychology books and fiction. Her novels are published under the pen-name C.A. Wilson.
Her debut novel as C.A. Wilson is:
Carnations in Lisbon (Bisham Books), which was selected as a Top Pick by the Daily Telegraph.
Her business psychology books include:
Best Practice in Performance Coaching: A Handbook for Leaders, Coaches, HR Professionals and Organizations (Kogan Page 3e) featuring forewords by Sir Richard Branson and Sir John Whitmore.
The Work and Life of David Grove; Clean Language and Emergent Knowledge, shortly to be published by Bisham Books.
Carol contributed to:
Excellence in Coaching: The Industry Guide (Kogan Page 3e)
The Handbook of Knowledge-Based Coaching (Wiley)
Carol is a leading expert on leadership and performance coaching and a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership & Management and the Association for Coaching. She provides leadership and coach training programmes to multi-national organisations including Reckitt Benckiser, IKEA, Philip Morris International, and Hilti Group. She previously ran companies in the entertainment industry, including Virgin Music (Publishing) Ltd, and founded DinDisc (with Virgin), Equator Records, and Arctic Records. She signed major artistes including Sting, Martha & the Muffins, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, The Human League, The Buzzcocks, Iggy Pop, Johnny Thunders, Tom Petty, Moby, Christie Moore, Die Krupps, and Pepsi & Shirlie, and created the dance series which included Cream of Underground House, Cream of Trip Hop, Cream of Ambient Visions, and Sasha the Remixes. She held board-level positions at Virgin, Island, WEA, and Polydor.
Carol lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband, where she wrote Carnations in Lisbon, inspired by her long-standing interest in 20th-century European history and the acquisition of a holiday home in Portugal.
Her debut novel as C.A. Wilson is:
Carnations in Lisbon (Bisham Books), which was selected as a Top Pick by the Daily Telegraph.
Her business psychology books include:
Best Practice in Performance Coaching: A Handbook for Leaders, Coaches, HR Professionals and Organizations (Kogan Page 3e) featuring forewords by Sir Richard Branson and Sir John Whitmore.
The Work and Life of David Grove; Clean Language and Emergent Knowledge, shortly to be published by Bisham Books.
Carol contributed to:
Excellence in Coaching: The Industry Guide (Kogan Page 3e)
The Handbook of Knowledge-Based Coaching (Wiley)
Carol is a leading expert on leadership and performance coaching and a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership & Management and the Association for Coaching. She provides leadership and coach training programmes to multi-national organisations including Reckitt Benckiser, IKEA, Philip Morris International, and Hilti Group. She previously ran companies in the entertainment industry, including Virgin Music (Publishing) Ltd, and founded DinDisc (with Virgin), Equator Records, and Arctic Records. She signed major artistes including Sting, Martha & the Muffins, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, The Human League, The Buzzcocks, Iggy Pop, Johnny Thunders, Tom Petty, Moby, Christie Moore, Die Krupps, and Pepsi & Shirlie, and created the dance series which included Cream of Underground House, Cream of Trip Hop, Cream of Ambient Visions, and Sasha the Remixes. She held board-level positions at Virgin, Island, WEA, and Polydor.
Carol lives in Buckinghamshire with her husband, where she wrote Carnations in Lisbon, inspired by her long-standing interest in 20th-century European history and the acquisition of a holiday home in Portugal.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 2, 2025
What a surprise this book was, in a myriad of ways! Told in alternating timelines, the brutality of Portugal's fascist regime in the '70s unfolds as resistance builds in universities. Juxtaposed against those chapters, we follow the lives of those involved and how those campus days affected them throughout their days. I found myself completely invested in these characters, rooting for the students and revolted by those who worked for the regime. This book is about much more than the revolution. It's also about the damage done by the financial crisis of the '80s and COVID. Ultimately, it's about family secrets, a reckoning, and maybe forgiveness, at least enough to move forward.
I easily identified with Elena because I was a college student in the early '70s, a time of protest here in the USA. Learning about the Carnation Revolution was fascinating, but why wasn't this part of our curriculum? Perhaps it's because our country was consumed by the Vietnam War, but it feels like a big hole in my education. The overthrow of fascism in Portugal is inspiring, and there is no better time than the present to read about it. If you love historical fiction and are looking for something different to read, I highly recommend Carnations in Lisbon.
I easily identified with Elena because I was a college student in the early '70s, a time of protest here in the USA. Learning about the Carnation Revolution was fascinating, but why wasn't this part of our curriculum? Perhaps it's because our country was consumed by the Vietnam War, but it feels like a big hole in my education. The overthrow of fascism in Portugal is inspiring, and there is no better time than the present to read about it. If you love historical fiction and are looking for something different to read, I highly recommend Carnations in Lisbon.
November 13, 2025
Aside from a few grammar mistakes and -- I will admit painfully -- format issues: Carnations in Lisbon is a delicacy that must not be ignored. If I see so much as one person walk by this novel, without stopping to even glance at it, I might have a stroke!
Carnations in Lisbon at first glance is a historical fic-lit revolving around two families spanning over fifty years in the present and past, with its focal point and fate determined by the real revolution that occurred in Portugal and affected the country in ways that we have seen over, and over, again, without fail.
I have very few complaints with this novel. I truly took my time to put my feet up and get a grip on this story, as we start out with one of our main characters, Helen, attending a will arranged by a family she believes she has no relation to. Only to stumble upon a related history fraught with war, family drama and secrets, and most importantly: love. As per my first short reading session, it took a while to get warmed up to Helen and her story. What seemed at first to be a surface level romance with thrilling twists turned out to be a complete total payoff of several red herrings, unexpected twists, and events that had me sobbing at the end.
This is a family journey that you agree to embark on when you pick up this book. I was not disappointed.
Though my reading experience lasted over a day, as my "reading slump" from a previous disappointment hindered my attention span, the second attempt at settling with his novel hooked me in for good. I love a historical novel about revolutions. I love characters who are not only self aware, but truly alive in their environment, society, etc.
Forever altered by their genetic, emotional past that they had no control over, we see a group of characters doing a western gun-off as they circle each other with guns blazing. This story doesn't hold back on the past or the present. The consequences of history don't go away. They follow anyone it can get ahold of. There is no choice.
Douglas Matthews blew my socks off and then some more. Can I geek out about him for a moment? An entitled, elite and white privileged British brute leaves his well established and glam life of white superiority to fall in love with, protect, and give an honest life as a working class commoner for a runaway exile revolutionary.. how dare you expect to me not fall for him myself! Though his actions are the bare minimum in all honesty ( he's a rare diamond in the real world ), his character journey surprised me the most. By the half way mark, Douglas Matthews quickly became one of my most beloved of characters in fiction. What a great man. RIP goat.
Elena. Don't even get me started on Elena and Alvaro's story. I'm tearing up just remembering it. Elena is such a powerful character. An incredible woman. I don't even want to go on a rant, because I need other readers to pick up this novel and experience it for themselves. I hope the spirit of the real women and men who make history in the eyes of injustice, capitalism, white supremacy and colonialism continue to inspire revolution until full freedom becomes possible. Because no one is free until everyone is.
All in all, before this becomes too long, I loved this novel to bits, and did not expect to in the slightest, despite picking it up specifically for its core themes of current, past, and future fascism, unfortunately. The world building was limited but just enough that I could see in my head the world that already exists, but in the author's terms. The story telling was grand, and because the pace moved so quickly and fluidly, filled with several point of views of characters weaving in and out of their destiny, the story never lost its grit, its passion, nor its effortless charm. The band of characters we are given are perfection. The emotional thread throughout the story is nearly invincible.
In conclusion: Go support this author, read this book, share it, donate it, add it to your public libraries, and like myself after this, never shut up about it. And do your research, so history never repeats.
P.S. I wish I could give this novel 10 stars.
Carnations in Lisbon at first glance is a historical fic-lit revolving around two families spanning over fifty years in the present and past, with its focal point and fate determined by the real revolution that occurred in Portugal and affected the country in ways that we have seen over, and over, again, without fail.
I have very few complaints with this novel. I truly took my time to put my feet up and get a grip on this story, as we start out with one of our main characters, Helen, attending a will arranged by a family she believes she has no relation to. Only to stumble upon a related history fraught with war, family drama and secrets, and most importantly: love. As per my first short reading session, it took a while to get warmed up to Helen and her story. What seemed at first to be a surface level romance with thrilling twists turned out to be a complete total payoff of several red herrings, unexpected twists, and events that had me sobbing at the end.
This is a family journey that you agree to embark on when you pick up this book. I was not disappointed.
Though my reading experience lasted over a day, as my "reading slump" from a previous disappointment hindered my attention span, the second attempt at settling with his novel hooked me in for good. I love a historical novel about revolutions. I love characters who are not only self aware, but truly alive in their environment, society, etc.
Forever altered by their genetic, emotional past that they had no control over, we see a group of characters doing a western gun-off as they circle each other with guns blazing. This story doesn't hold back on the past or the present. The consequences of history don't go away. They follow anyone it can get ahold of. There is no choice.
Douglas Matthews blew my socks off and then some more. Can I geek out about him for a moment? An entitled, elite and white privileged British brute leaves his well established and glam life of white superiority to fall in love with, protect, and give an honest life as a working class commoner for a runaway exile revolutionary.. how dare you expect to me not fall for him myself! Though his actions are the bare minimum in all honesty ( he's a rare diamond in the real world ), his character journey surprised me the most. By the half way mark, Douglas Matthews quickly became one of my most beloved of characters in fiction. What a great man. RIP goat.
Elena. Don't even get me started on Elena and Alvaro's story. I'm tearing up just remembering it. Elena is such a powerful character. An incredible woman. I don't even want to go on a rant, because I need other readers to pick up this novel and experience it for themselves. I hope the spirit of the real women and men who make history in the eyes of injustice, capitalism, white supremacy and colonialism continue to inspire revolution until full freedom becomes possible. Because no one is free until everyone is.
All in all, before this becomes too long, I loved this novel to bits, and did not expect to in the slightest, despite picking it up specifically for its core themes of current, past, and future fascism, unfortunately. The world building was limited but just enough that I could see in my head the world that already exists, but in the author's terms. The story telling was grand, and because the pace moved so quickly and fluidly, filled with several point of views of characters weaving in and out of their destiny, the story never lost its grit, its passion, nor its effortless charm. The band of characters we are given are perfection. The emotional thread throughout the story is nearly invincible.
In conclusion: Go support this author, read this book, share it, donate it, add it to your public libraries, and like myself after this, never shut up about it. And do your research, so history never repeats.
P.S. I wish I could give this novel 10 stars.
October 6, 2025
Carnations in Lisbon is a major work in Portuguese historical fiction. C A Wilson weaves the tortuous and tortured lives of one extended family into a suspenseful and unpredictable story during and after the fall of Portugal's horrific dictatorship in the 1970s. The book exposes the sinister, ugly sides of the last years of despotism, against the desperate and determined efforts of the resistance movement who finally achieve the revolution that puts Portugal back on the road to democracy.
Woven throughout the story spanning 70 years is an eclectic mix of characters who find themselves related in unexpected ways after the will of the patriarch is published. Written in the Hispanic Boom style of the 1960s it sits alongside the vibrant storytelling methods of Gabriel Garcia Marquez for its simple but compelling descriptions of the family members and the relationships to each other over several decades, and to the wealth they are due to inherit. Or to not inherit.
Short purposeful chapters allow the reader to arrive easily and quickly into the narrative-a wonderful book which will translate easily into the movies
Woven throughout the story spanning 70 years is an eclectic mix of characters who find themselves related in unexpected ways after the will of the patriarch is published. Written in the Hispanic Boom style of the 1960s it sits alongside the vibrant storytelling methods of Gabriel Garcia Marquez for its simple but compelling descriptions of the family members and the relationships to each other over several decades, and to the wealth they are due to inherit. Or to not inherit.
Short purposeful chapters allow the reader to arrive easily and quickly into the narrative-a wonderful book which will translate easily into the movies
August 17, 2025
I really enjoyed this book. The insight into recent Portuguese history was fascinating, the setting was beautiful, and the unfolding family saga - which scanned countries and generations - was captivating. Themes of love, loss, friendship, misunderstandings, revenge and forgiveness weave their way through it. If you loved Lucinda Riley’s The Seven Sisters, I reckon you’d love this, too.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews