It is London, 1880, and Lucas Jarmyn struggles to make sense of the death of his beloved youngest daughter; his wife, Aurora, seeks solace in rigid social routines; and his eighteen-year-old daughter Dinah looks for fulfilment in unusual places. Only the housekeeper, the estimable Mrs Logan, seems able to carry on.

A train accident in a provincial town on the railway Lucas owns claims the life of a young child and, amid the public outcry, a father journeys to London demanding justice. As he arrives in the city on a frozen January morning he finds a family with a terrible secret tearing their lives apart.

A captivating drama of secrets and tragedies in a Victorian family adrift in their rapidly changing world.

About the Author
Maggie Joel is a British-born writer now living in Sydney. She has been writing fiction and non-fiction for over ten years. Her first two novels The Past and Other Lies and The Second-Last Woman in England were published by Constable & Robinson.

Reviews
As the days get colder and darker, nothing warms me more than a period novel. Reminiscent of Kate Summerscale and set in the Victorian era, two men of very different social classes both lose their daughters in tragic accidents. * Red *
Maggie Joel's new novel takes us upstairs, downstairs and into the darkest corners of a Victorian household... If you like robust dramas with the occasional dash of dark humour, then you will love this. * Daily Telegraph (Sydney) *
A page-turner full of detail and colour. * Saturday Age *
A sombre but fascinating tale. * The Australian *



Book Information
ISBN 9781925266528
Author Maggie Joel
Format Paperback
Page Count 432
Imprint Allen & Unwin
Publisher Allen & Unwin
Weight(grams) 405g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 31mm