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About The Book
A young Englishwoman searches for the truth about the disappearance of her eccentric father in this rich historical adventure novel set in the perilous world of the pearl diving industry in 19th-century Western Australia.
Everything has a price. And the truth may cost more than pearls...
As the pearling ships return to Bannin Bay after a long diving season, twenty-year-old Eliza Brightwell awaits the arrival of her father’s boat. But when his lugger finally limps in, it brings a tale of tragedy: Charles Brightwell, master pearler, has gone missing at sea.
Whispers from the townsfolk point to mutiny or murder. Headstrong Eliza knows it is up to her to find out who—or what—is responsible for her father’s disappearance. Searching for the truth, she delves beneath the glamorous veneer of the south sea pearling trade only to discover that the sun-scorched streets of Bannin Bay, a town she once thought she knew so well, are teeming with corruption, prejudice, and blackmail.
How far is Eliza willing to go to save the ones she loves? And what family secrets will come to haunt her along the way?
Set in a mesmerizing yet unforgiving place where both profit and peril lie deep beneath the ocean’s surface, Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter is an exquisite debut about a young woman’s quest to bring her father home.
Everything has a price. And the truth may cost more than pearls...
As the pearling ships return to Bannin Bay after a long diving season, twenty-year-old Eliza Brightwell awaits the arrival of her father’s boat. But when his lugger finally limps in, it brings a tale of tragedy: Charles Brightwell, master pearler, has gone missing at sea.
Whispers from the townsfolk point to mutiny or murder. Headstrong Eliza knows it is up to her to find out who—or what—is responsible for her father’s disappearance. Searching for the truth, she delves beneath the glamorous veneer of the south sea pearling trade only to discover that the sun-scorched streets of Bannin Bay, a town she once thought she knew so well, are teeming with corruption, prejudice, and blackmail.
How far is Eliza willing to go to save the ones she loves? And what family secrets will come to haunt her along the way?
Set in a mesmerizing yet unforgiving place where both profit and peril lie deep beneath the ocean’s surface, Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter is an exquisite debut about a young woman’s quest to bring her father home.
About The Author
Magdalena Smolarska
Lizzie Pook is a London-based travel writer and journalist whose work has taken her to some of the farthest-flung parts of the planet, from the trans-Himalayas—in search of elusive snow leopards—to the vast, uninhabited east coast of Greenland. She has written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Times (London), Lonely Planet, and Condé Nast Traveler. Lizzie is the author of Maude Horton’s Glorious Revenge and Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter. Visit her at LizziePook.com or connect with her on Twitter @LizziePook.
About The Reader
Why We Love It
“I’m not someone who frequently falls for historical fiction, but when I do fall, I fall hard. The works of historical fiction I love most share some common DNA: they prioritize character and voice as much as worldbuilding, they explore timeless themes of human love, longing, and loss, and they feature badass female protagonists. Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter checks all of these boxes and more. It features a gutsy young woman who bucks tradition and adventures into the dangerous mangroves and seas of Western Australia to find the truth behind her father’s disappearance. Lizzie Pook brings the natural world to vivid life on the page, but she gives equal weight to the politics of British colonialism and the way they turned Western Australia into a land of profit (for themselves) and peril.”
—Carina G., Senior Editor, on Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter
Product Details
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (June 7, 2022)
- Runtime: 9 hours and 26 minutes
- ISBN13: 9781668004661
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