by Lizzie Pook
SYNOPSIS
1886, BANNIN BAY, AUSTRALIA.
The Brightwell family has sailed from England to make their new home in Western Australia. Ten-year-old Eliza knows little of what awaits them on these shores beyond shining pearls and shells like soup plates – the things her father has promised will make their fortune.
Ten years later and Charles Brightwell, now the bay’s most prolific pearler, goes missing from his ship while out at sea. Whispers from the townsfolk suggest mutiny and murder, but headstrong Eliza, convinced there is more to the story, refuses to believe her father is dead, and it falls to her to ask the questions no one else dares consider.
But in a town teeming with corruption, prejudice and blackmail, Eliza soon learns that the truth can cost more than pearls, and she must decide just how much she is willing to pay – and how far she is willing to go – to find it . . .
REVIEW
Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter tells the story of Eliza and her family, who move to Western Australia in 1886 when her father and uncle decide to try and make their fortune in the dangerous world of pearl diving.
When Eliza's father doesn't return home after an expedition, she is convinced that he is still alive despite the opinion of her brother and his team, who all say that he has died at sea. Eliza realises that if she wants to find out the truth about what really happened, she will have to take matters into her own hands and solve the mystery.
Part murder mystery, part historical fiction, part social commentary and part botanical and animal field guide - this is a story like nothing else I have ever read. I was totally transported to Bannin Bay through the author's wonderful, yet brutal descriptions of the scorching hot days, swarms of cockroaches and misogynistic views of the local residents - this all swiftly destroyed the idealistic vision Eliza's father had for their move to the other side of the world.
It was Eliza's character that really carried the story for me. If 'Girl Power' had been around in the late 1800's, Eliza would have been leading the movement. She really is a true feminist icon and the embodiment of empowered female strength. She knows her own mind and is someone who won't be swayed by other peoples opinions or prejudices.
A detailed and atmospheric debut which took some unexpected turns, particularly with the romantic elements of the story. Moonlight and the Pearler's Daughter highlighted an era that I previously had very little knowledge about and presented it in a convincing and thoroughly researched story.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lizzie Pook is an award-winning journalist and travel writer contributing to The Sunday Times, Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, Condé Nast Traveller and more. Her assignments have taken her to some of the most remote parts of the planet, from the uninhabited east coast of Greenland in search of roaming polar bears, to the foothills of the Himalayas to track endangered snow leopards.
She was inspired to write Moonlight and the Pearler’s Daughter, her debut novel, after spending time in north-western Australia researching the dangerous and fascinating pearl-diving industry. She lives in London.
You can find Lizzie on Twitter and Instagram: @LizziePook.
Thanks to Anne Cater - @RandomTTours, @LizziePook and @MantleBooks for the opportunity to read and review.
Fiction: Historical Fiction / Mystery
Publisher: Mantle Books
ISBN: 978-1529072846
Pages: 304pp
Comments