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Weaving historical fiction with folklore and Tasmanian gothic, this is a gorgeously atmospheric debut that explores memory and self, the resilience of women and a dangerous longing for the sea.The Findlay family history has long been steeped in secrets, tragedy and dark rumours of madness. Generations of its women have been haunted by a dangerous luring melody and an insatiable longing for the sea.
It's 1923 and Isla Findlay lives with her parents on the edge of the ocean in Tasmania, in a rambling mansion full of whispers of this cursed legacy. When Isla discovers her estranged aunt is finally coming home, long-repressed memories of the selkie stories of her childhood start to resurface, along with disturbing dreams of seals and an eerie song that Isla starts to hear even in her waking hours.
As the line between what's real and imagined starts to blur, Isla and her aunt and mother must reckon with long-held secrets and ghosts who have not been properly laid to rest. The closer they get to the truths of the past, the louder they hear the seductive call of the ocean. Does it sing of freedom, or only more tragedy?
A tale of madness and miracles, secrets and sins, myth and reality, and the tenacity and resilience of women in the face of impossible choices.
Arianne James is a writer of fiction and avid reader. Her writing has taken her on residencies to Varuna, KSP Writers Centre, Patterdale House and Chateau d’Orquevaux. Arianne runs ‘Once Upon a Bookclub’ at Fullers, and hosts ‘The Book Shelf’ on Edge Radio. Daughters of the Tide, for which she was shortlisted for the 2024 ASA/HQ Fiction prize, is her debut novel.
In conversation with Arianne is Karen Brooks. Karen is the author of sixteen books – historical fiction, historical fantasy, YA fantasy, and one non-fiction. She was an academic for over 20 years, a newspaper columnist and social commentator. She has a Ph.D. in English/Cultural Studies and has published internationally on all things popular culture, education and social psychology. An award-winning teacher, she’s taught throughout Australia and in The Netherlands and keynoted at many education conferences. Nowadays, she finds greatest contentment studying history and writing, and helping her husband in his Brewstillery, Captain Bligh’s.
Join Arianne and Karen at the Afterword Cafe.
Tickets available on TryBooking: https://www.trybooking.com/DLJNB
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