Books and stories have always held a special place in my heart. One of my earliest memories is a birthday present from my grandfather. An illustrated copy of Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tales. I couldn’t read, I could hardly balance the book on my lap, but it opened a world beyond my drab existence in post war London. A world of fantasy and dreams, a world I’ve escaped to many times over the years. The stories I write always have a basis in fact. They spring from a titbit overheard, a person I met, a place I visited or they fill an unrecorded gap in history. They tell of secrets and memories, of mysteries and passions. Come, step into my world—you are most welcome.
COMING SOON Available for pre order now RELEASE DATE: 1NOVEMBER 2024 THE GOLDEN THREAD
Intricate threads from the past and the present bind together a yellow silk dress, lost gold and a missing grandmother in a twisty historical mystery from the bestselling author of The Talented Mrs Greenway.
Maitland, 1889
When eighteen-year-old Constance Montague wakes one Wednesday she expects the day to unfold like any other. Breakfast with her grandmother Nell and her mother Faith, a meeting in Maitland with the ladies of the Benevolent Society, perhaps a gentle stroll along the banks of the Hunter River. But this Wednesday is different. Nell has vanished. Concerned, Connie determines to track Nell down and follows a lead to Old Government House in Parramatta, now a boarding house. There, to her astonishment she finds her grandmother holding court. When Nell introduces her as her companion, and not her granddaughter, to a varied cast of colourful guests, including a frail but observant old lady, a travelling salesmen, a bearded lothario, a clever articled clerk, a lively seamstress and an enigmatic housekeeper who is connected with Nell's past, Connie begins to realise that her grandmother is not who she seems. Nell is looking for something and following a thread stitched long ago, a thread that leads from some missing gold, to a silk damask dress and the attic of Government House. As the story unravels so do the secrets of the past, secrets that surface into the present to threaten not just Nell, but Connie too.
Tea Cooper is a prolific author of historical fiction who has cemented herself as a master storyteller. Jane Tara, Better Reading An infectious fascination with the past.' Sydney Morning Herald Cooper’s confident prose and deep empathy for her characters will keep readers hooked as she unspools her intrigue-filled mystery. US Publishers Weekly Her writing is transcendent and she brings the times, characters, locations and world to life in such a visceral way.' Little but Fierce Book Diary The narrative skill to weave multiple timelines into a satisfying whole…smartly edited, cleanly written…easy to devour.’ Sydney Morning Herald Cooper is a welcome inclusion to the rising ranks of female-centred historical Australian novels.’ The Herald Sun