The tea planter's wife - Dinah Jefferies

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 . . .

Dinah Jefferies was born in Malaysia and moved to England at the age of nine. Her idyllic childhood always held a special place in her imagination, and when she began writing novels in her 60s, she was able to return there - first in her fiction and then on annual research trips for each new novel. Dinah Jefferies is the author of novels, The Separation, The Tea Planter's Wife - a Number One Sunday Times bestseller, The Silk Merchant's Daughter, Before the Rains and The Missing Sister. She lives in Gloucestershire.

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