Maisie Porter’s tale lands in the UK as Harper Impulse publish Roxane Dhand’s page-turning debut THE PEARLER’S WIFE in paperback today, following the ebook release on March 18. The historical novel is bound to sink hearts as Maisie, a young woman who has travelled across the ocean for an arranged marriage, finds herself drawn to an alluring British diver on her arrival.
THE PEARLER’S WIFE was published in trade paperback, audio and ebook by Bantam Australia in February. Writing for The Sunday Times Perth, Anna Carew-Reid commented, ‘Dhand’s compelling debut explores racism, homosexuality and social class, with a hefty dose of romance thrown in.’
Rights to the sensational story have also been bought in Italy by Piemme Edizioni and Lithuania by Baltos Lankos.
A distant land. A dangerous husband. A forbidden love.
The year is 1912. Nineteen-year-old Maisie Porter watches from the deck of the SS Oceanic as England fades from view. Her destination is Buccaneer Bay in Australia’s far north-west. Her fate: marriage to distant cousin Maitland Sinclair, a man she has never met.
When Maisie arrives in her new home, she finds a stifling small town bound by Victorian morals. Shocked at her new husband’s callous behaviour towards her, she is increasingly drawn to William Cooper, a British diver she met on board ship. It soon becomes clear that secrets surround her husband, as turbulent as the waters that crash against the bay. Secrets that somehow link to her own family and secrets that put Cooper and his fellow British divers in great danger
From the drawing rooms of London to the latticed verandas and gambling dens of Buccaneer Bay, THE PEARLER’S WIFE is a sweeping, epic read, inspired by a lost moment in history.
Roxane Dhand was born in Kent and entertained her sisters with imaginative stories from a young age. She studied English and French at London University, and in 1978 she moved to Switzerland, where she began her professional career in public relations. Back in England and many years later on, she taught French in both the maintained and private sectors. Now retired, she is finally able to indulge her passion for storytelling. THE PEARLER'S WIFE is her first novel.
Praise for THE PEARLER’S WIFE:
‘An assured debut novel ... a sweeping romance set in a little-known corner of Australian history ... a story full of tension, drama and romance’ — Kate Forsyth