Mary-Lou Stephens

The Last of the Apple Blossom (eBook, ePUB)

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

The fire took everything - except two women's fighting spirits. A sweeping, big-hearted Australian family saga for readers of Judy Nunn and Victoria Purman.

7 February, 1967. Walls of flame reduce much of Tasmania to ash.

Young schoolteacher Catherine Turner rushes to the Huon Valley to find her family's apple orchard destroyed, her childhood home in ruins and her brother dead. Despite her father's declaration that a woman will never run the orchard, Catherine resolves to rebuild the family business.

After five sons, Catherine's friend and neighbour, Annie Pearson, is overjoyed by the birth of a much longed for daughter. As Annie and her husband Dave work to repair the damage to their orchard, Dave's friend Mark pitches in, despite the fact that Annie wants him gone. Mark has moved his family to the valley to escape his life in Melbourne, but his wife has disappeared leaving chaos in her wake and their young son Charlie in Mark's care.

Catherine becomes fond of Charlie, whose strange upbringing has left him shy and withdrawn. However, the growing friendship between Mark and Catherine not only scandalises the small community but threatens a secret Annie is desperate to keep hidden. Through natural disasters, personal calamities and the devastating collapse of the apple industry, Catherine, Annie and those they love battle to save their livelihoods, their families and their secrets.

PRAISE FOR THE LAST OF THE APPLE BLOSSOM:

'An outstanding historical novel about women and the secrets and burdens they carry' - The Australian

'What a cracker of a debut! A beautiful story of family and orchards, of secrets and love and forgiveness' - Victoria Purman, author of The Nurses' War

'The crisp prose sparkles and the characters stay with you long after the story ends' - Lauren Chater, author of Gulliver's Wife

'Australian historical fiction at its finest ... It will linger in your mind and heart long after the last page.' - Karen Brooks, author of The Good Wife of Bath

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: HQ Fiction
• Seitenzahl: 464
• Erscheinungstermin: 28. Juli 2021
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781867226444
• Artikelnr.: 61114836

Autorenporträt

Mary-Lou Stephens was born in Tasmania, studied acting at The Victorian College of the Arts and played in bands in Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney. Eventually she got a proper job - in radio, where she was a presenter and music director, first with commercial radio and then with the ABC.

She received rave reviews for her memoir Sex, Drugs and Meditation (2013), the true story of how meditation changed her life, saved her job and helped her find a husband. The Australian called her debut novel, The Last of the Apple Blossom (2021), 'an outstanding historical novel about women and the secrets and burdens they carry'. She is also the author of the bestselling novel The Chocolate Factory (2024).

Mary-Lou has worked and played all over Australia. Now she travels the world with her husband, slowly, and writes, mostly.

Photo Credit: Jessica Hinchliffe