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  • Published: 13 June 2016
  • ISBN: 9780241969557
  • Imprint: Penguin General UK
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 448
  • RRP: $22.99

The Tea Planter's Wife

The mesmerising escapist historical romance that became a No.1 Sunday Times bestseller




The story of a young woman's journey through love, motherhood and loss in 1920s Ceylon

Nineteen-year-old Gwendolyn Hooper is newly married to a rich and charming widower, eager to join him on his tea plantation, determined to be the perfect wife and mother.

But life in Ceylon is not what Gwen expected. The plantation workers are resentful, the neighbours treacherous. And there are clues to the past - a dusty trunk of dresses, an overgrown gravestone in the grounds - that her husband refuses to discuss.

Just as Gwen finds her feet, disaster strikes. She faces a terrible choice, hiding the truth from almost everyone, but a secret this big can't stay buried forever . . .

  • Published: 13 June 2016
  • ISBN: 9780241969557
  • Imprint: Penguin General UK
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 448
  • RRP: $22.99

About the author

Dinah Jefferies

Dinah Jefferies was born in Malaya in 1948 and moved to England at the age of nine. She has worked in education, once lived in a rock n roll commune and, more recently, been an exhibiting artist. She spends her days writing, with time off to make tiaras and dinosaurs with her grandchildren. She has previously published The Separation with Viking, and The Tea Planter's Wife is her second novel.

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Praise for The Tea Planter's Wife

My ideal read; mystery, love, heart-break and joy - I couldn't put it down

Santa Montefiore

Beautifully written and heart rending, this has a magical setting with a real sense of period.

Katie Fforde

A gloriously atmospheric and tension-filled novel that centres on the separation of a mother and her child. Immensely enjoyable, poignant and compelling

Isabel Wolff

Vibrant and compelling - Dinah Jefferies perfectly captures the flavour of colonial Ceylon

Rosanna Ley

I was spellbound from beginning to end

Deborah Rodriguez

A wonderful book, deeply touching and an unforgettable read that swept me away. I loved it.

Kate Furnivall

Dark secrets lie at every turn, hidden beneath layers of 1920s racism and the fearfulness of a crumbling colonial power, making for a thoroughly gripping tale. But what I loved most of all. . . is the moving way in which Dinah writes about the loss of children and the redemptive power of love.

Liz Trenow

A terrific emotional and atmospheric read

Elizabeth Buchan

Deeply atmospheric and utterly engrossing

Lucy Cruickshanks

Rich and incredibly evocative, historical fiction at its best...it's just spellbinding

Sunday Express

A full-blown escape into the past

Independent

A gripping tale of love, jealousy, greed and tragedy

Woman and Home