Discovery. Desire. Deception. A wondrously imagined tale of two female botanists, separated by more than a century, in a race to discover a life-saving flower . . .
In Victorian England, headstrong adventuress Elizabeth takes up her late father's quest for a rare, miraculous plant. She faces a perilous sea voyage, unforeseen dangers and treachery that threatens her entire family. In present-day Australia, Anna finds a mysterious metal box containing a sketchbook of dazzling watercolours, a photograph inscribed 'Spring 1886' and a small bag of seeds. It sets her on a path far from her safe, carefully ordered life, and on a journey that will force her to face her own demons. In this spellbinding botanical odyssey of discovery, desire and deception, Kayte Nunn has so exquisitely researched nineteenth-century Cornwall and Chile you can almost smell the fragrance of the flowers, the touch of the flora on your fingertips . . . 'Two incredibly likeable, headstrong heroines . . . watching them flourish is captivating. With these dynamic women at the helm, Kayte weaves a clever tale of plant treachery involving exotic and perilous encounters in Chile, plus lashings of gentle romance. Compelling storytelling' The Australian Women's Weekly 'I loved The Botanist's Daughter. I was transported to the 1880s and Chile, to contemporary Sydney and Kew. A gripping, warm-hearted read'As the weather improves, Rose starts to unlock the secrets of the valley - from bonfire ceremonies and wine-making traditions to eccentric locals and their histories.
Despite herself, Rose starts to fall in love: with the valley, the wines, the two children she's helping to look after - and with the handsome and brilliant Mark Cameron, owner of the troubled Kalkari Wines estate.
What will happen when Mark's estranged wife, the tempestuous Isabella, returns? Will Rose find a future in the Shingle Valley, or will she be forced to leave?
Kayte Nunn is a freelance book, magazine and web editor and the former editor of Gourmet Traveller WINE magazine. She writes on travel, health, wellbeing, parenting and lifestyle topics, and has been short-listed for local and international short-story awards. She is a mother to two girls. This is her first novel.
'Some books, like wine can be sipped - but I had to gulp this novel down It was delicious ' - Rachael Treasure
When something is taken away, it can make what's left all the sweeter - in winemaking, they call it the 'angels' share'.
Mattie Cameron thinks she's got it all figured out: an impressive career in London, a gorgeous boyfriend and brilliant friends. But after a freak skiing accident leaves her with serious injuries, a broken heart and a job she can no longer do, moving back to Australia to recuperate at her brother Mark's winery in the Shingle Valley seems like the only option.
Meanwhile, Mark is preoccupied with a catastrophic threat to the future of the valley, and his partner, Rose, is juggling the demands of her burgeoning restaurant and being a stepmother, all the while secretly longing for a child of her own.
As Mattie's injuries heal, she begins to wonder where her future might lie, especially when she finds herself struggling with her growing feelings for winemaker Charlie Drummond - who happens to be engaged to someone.
Featuring the cherished cast of characters from Rose's Vintage, this new tale of life and love in the spectacular Shingle Valley is set to charm and delight.
A cache of unsent love letters from the 1950s is found in a suitcase on a remote island in this mysterious love story in the tradition of the novels by Kate Morton and Elizabeth Gilbert.
1951. Esther Durrant, a young mother, is committed to an isolated mental asylum by her husband. Run by a pioneering psychiatrist, the hospital is at first Esther's prison but soon surprisingly becomes her refuge.
2018. Free-spirited marine scientist Rachel Parker embarks on a research posting in the Isles of Scilly, off the Cornish coast. When a violent storm forces her to take shelter on a far-flung island, she discovers a collection of hidden love letters. Captivated by their passion and tenderness, Rachel determines to track down the intended recipient. But she has no idea of the far-reaching consequences her decision will bring.
Meanwhile, in London, Eve is helping her grandmother, a renowned mountaineer, write her memoirs. When she is contacted by Rachel, it sets in motion a chain of events that threatens to reveal secrets kept buried for more than sixty years.
With an arresting dual narrative that immediately captivates the reader, The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant is an inspirational story of the sacrifices made for love.
1949: During the coldest winter Seattle has seen in decades, pregnant sixteen-year-old Brigid Ryan arrives at Fairmile, a home for fallen women run by the Catholic Church on a remote island in Puget Sound. She and her baby will disappear before the snow melts.
2013: Ex-cop Frankie Gray is escaping a career in ruins and hoping to reconnect with her teenage daughter, Izzy, while summering with her mother at The Fairmile Inn, soon to be a boutique hotel. But when an elderly nun who worked at the home in its former iteration is found dead in suspicious circumstances and then a tiny skeleton is discovered on the grounds nearby, Frankie goes looking for answers. Then Izzy disappears, and as Frankie races to find her, she turns up a secret that will force her to question her own history and the identity she thought she knew.
Over sixty years separate the disappearances at the Fairmile, but Frankie suspects that they may share the same dark root; in the suspenseful, atmospheric investigation that follows, she finds that the truth is as foggy as the rocky, isolated island on which that darkness thrived.
Friendships will be tested when five women come together at a New Year's Eve party after decades apart, in this thrilling story based on a brave group of WWII servicewomen, by the bestselling author of The Silk House
Burma, 1945. Bea, Plum, Bubbles, Joy and Lucy: in search of adventure, attached to the Fourteenth Army, fighting a forgotten war in the jungle. Assigned to run a mobile canteen, they become embroiled in life-threatening battles of their own. Oxford, 1976. A woman steals several rare Japanese netsuke from a museum. Despite the offer of a considerable reward, these tiny, exquisitely detailed carvings are never seen again. London and Galway, 1999. On the eve of the new millennium, Olivia, assistant to an art dealer, and Beatrix, an elderly widow who wishes to sell her late husband's collection of Japanese art, travel to a party deep in the Irish countryside, where secrets kept for more than fifty years are spilled. Inspired by the heroic women who served in the 'forgotten war' in Burma, The Last Reunion is a heartbreaking love story and mystery by the international bestselling author of The Botanist's Daughter and The Silk House. 'This is very good commercial historical fiction, well-crafted and well-informed. It pulls no punches about wartime violence, and Kayte Nunn has some thoughtful points to make about the nature and endurance of women's friendships' Sydney Morning HeraldWeaving. Healing. Haunting. The Top-Ten bestselling story of a mysterious boarding school sheltering a centuries-old secret...
Australian history teacher Thea Rust arrives at an exclusive boarding school in the British countryside only to find that she is to look after the first intake of girls in its 150-year history. She is to stay with them in Silk House, a building with a long and troubled past. In the late 1700s, Rowan Caswell leaves her village to work in the home of an English silk merchant. She is thrust into a new and dangerous world where her talent for herbs and healing soon attracts attention.