"Sydney, 1871. Twenty-five-year-old widow Tatty Crowe is the owner of busy undertaking firm Crowe Funerals. Life and business are good until Tatty notices how many women are dying after illicit abortions and after a terrible tragedy close to home, she vows to expose the culprit. And then there are the dead babies abandoned around the city. Once again Tatty sets out to investigate the crisis and finds herself immersed in the dark and heartless world of baby farming. Along the way she encounters an old foe, and clashes with a new adversary who, it transpires, is far more dangerous."
"Tatiana Caldwell's childhood in London is idyllic and filled with the love of doting parents. But when they die in quick succession, she's left heartbroken and destitute. In 1864, at seventeen, she emigrates to Australia, determined to build a new, financially secure life for herself. After an apprenticeship as an undertaker's assistant with Crowe Funeral Services, Tatty marries owner Titus Crowe. Titus himself soon dies, and Tatty inherits the business, becoming Sydney's only female undertaker. But then rival funeral director Elias Nuttall, intent on acquiring Crowe Funeral Services, publicly accuses Tatty of deliberately poisoning Titus. She must find a way to stop him before he ruins her, and embarks on exposing Nuttall's own gruesome secrets: a mission that takes her from the cemetery at midnight, to house-breaking, to Sydney's criminal court, to the lunatic asylum..."
"Rowie's pro-war, her sister Jo's a protester. And they're both in Vietnam.
The compelling new novel from the bestselling author of From the Ashes
In 1969, at the height of the Vietnam war, nurse Rowie Leonard is serving a 12-month tour of duty. She supports the war and is committed to caring for wounded New Zealand and Australian troops. After a few months, however, she realises that nothing at all about the conflict is as clear-cut as she'd assumed.
Her younger sister, Jo, is the opposite - a student at Auckland University, a folk singer and a fervent anti-war protestor. But when Jo falls for professional soldier Sam Apanui, home on leave to visit his ill father, she finds herself torn between her feelings and her convictions.
As the three of them grapple with love, loss, and the stresses and sorrows of war, each will be forced to confront and question everything they believed.
Praise for Deborah Challinor:
'Challinor is a good storyteller ... seamlessly joining fact and fiction and creating a convincing, atmospheric yarn' Bookseller and Publisher
'The perfect blend of fact and fiction' NZ Herald"
"Set in an unnamed NZ city in 1953, Fire tells the story of four working class friends, all employed at Dawsons, one of the country's most glamorous and sophisticated department stores. An historical romance based on the Ballantynes Department Store Fire in 1947 that killed 41 people, most of them store employees trapped in controversial circumstances.
Set in an unnamed NZ city in 1953, Fire tells the story of four working class friends, all employed at Dawsons, one of the country's most glamorous and sophisticated department stores. The girls are Nancy, a salesgirl in the dress department, Kay who works in lingerie, Louise, a typist in Accounts and Judy, a milliner in the workroom out the back. The story takes place a week before Christmas, in the period leading up to Christmas as the country prepares for a Royal Visit by the young Queen Elizabeth. When the store is full of wealthy shoppers smoke is discovered drifting from the basement lift shaft. While the fire brigade is called, the store owners make a crucial error and decide not to raise a public alarm until it's too late - exits are cut off by the fire and the ground and first floors are ablaze, trapping staff and customers on the upper floors. A powerful and dramatic story from one of our best-selling novelists."
"Bestselling author Deborah Challinor returns with a spellbinding novel about a woman living in Sydney's notorious King's Cross in 1964.
Polly Manaia is living in Sydney's notorious Kings Cross, working as an exotic dancer. She's desperate to bring her young daughter to live with her, but beneath her brash confidence lie dark secrets which threaten to drag her under.
Gina is excited to live with her mum again. She's mature for an eleven-year-old, but can this young girl cope with Polly's demons?
Rhoda and Star, transgender performers and Polly's flatmates, bring stability to Polly and Gina's lives. Yet this unlikely little family will find themselves threatened in more ways than one.
The Jacaranda House is a fascinating portrayal of a shifting society and a beautiful portrait of motherhood and identity.
'Australia's answer to Philippa Gregory' Brisbane Times
'A meticulously researched and compellingly readable story injected with heart and humour, From the Ashes is perfect for fans of Fiona McIntosh and Kate Furnivall. A five-star read' Better Reading"
"On the gold fields of the colonies, enemies are easily made. In the confines of a ship, they can turn deadly. For readers of Bryce Courtenay's POTATO FACTORY, Philippa Gregory and Tracy Chevalier.
When Kitty and Rian Farrell sail their schooner Katipo III into Dunedin Harbour in 1863, they are on tenterhooks. The new Otago goldfields have attracted all-comers, including their friend Wong Fu from Ballarat, who has sent a message for their help.
To their surprise, Wong Fu reveals he is more than a mere fortune seeker - he is in fact a Cloud Leopard tong master and his daughter, Bao, has been kidnapped and taken to opium-ridden China.
Kitty and Rian agree to retrieve the missing Bao, but as they sail closer to their quarry the stakes jump dramatically. And little do they know that the deadliest threat lies in their midst.
The Cloud's Leopard's Daughter takes us through dangerous and unpredictable shoals of love, lust, greed and opium, in search of not one, but two, fiery yet vulnerable women - puppets in other people's calculated games.
PRAISE FOR DEB CHALLINOR'S A TATTOOED HEART
'Brilliant finale to this series based on Australia's convict past' -- Jan GoodReads
'... one of those books that you want to read slowly so it doesn't end but can't help rushing through to find out what happens!' -- Sarah Courtney, GoodReads
'Fantastic end to the convict girls series! Couldn't put it down!!!' -- Catherine Maisey, GoodReads
'Challinor is a good storyteller; her characters have depth and her historical backdrops are well researched, seamless joining fact and fiction and creating a convincing, atmospheric yarn' -- Bookseller + Publisher
'Seamlessly fuses historical fact and engrossing fiction' -- Queensland Times"
"Kitty Farrell, popular heroine of two earlier books, goes to the Ballarat goldfields
On the goldfields of Ballarat, vows are broken - can a wounded heart ever forgive?When the Yarrowee River bursts its banks, Rian Farrell, a dashing Irish sea captain and part-time gunrunner, disappears in the torrential flood. Believing herself a widow, the headstrong and passionate Kitty Farrell's heart is left in tatters after the sudden death of her beloved husband. In her grief, she finally succumbs to the attractions of his long-time shipmate, Daniel, who has loved her from afar for many years. the consequences are disastrous, and will challenge Kitty Farrell both physically and mentally. the resulting novel is a heady mix of powerful relationships and memorable, passionate characters, whose compelling story plays out against a skilfully depicted and utterly realistic backdrop of Old Ballarat. An accomplished novelist and professional historian, experienced author Deborah Challinor brings her extensive skills as a bestselling author of historical romance to bear in creating a story that will resonate in your heart for a very long time.''Challinor is a good storyteller; her characters have depth and her historical backdrops are well researched, seamlessly joining fact and fiction and creating a convincing, atmospheric yarn. Because of the strong action theme, Band of Gold is a real page-turner'' Bookseller + Publisher"
"She was Maori, aged anywhere between three and five years old. Her dirty, matted hair hung past her shoulders, and her sweet, heart-shaped little face was filthy.
When 18-year-old Kitty Carlisle's father dies unexpectedly in Norfolk in 1838, Kitty and her mother are left impoverished. After Kitty is discovered in a compromising position with an unscrupulous adventurer, her reputation is left in shreds. In desperation, her mother banishes Kitty to the colonies in disgrace, under the guardianship of her dour missionary uncle and his long-suffering wife. Against the backdrop of the wild and unruly Bay of Islands in the period leading up to the signing of the treaty of Waitangi, Kitty meets and falls in love with Ryan Farrell, a rude, aloof and atheistic ships captain. When she discovers he is also a gun runner, her loyalties are torn and her tempestuous nature leads to an estrangement. the path to true love is tortuous, involving rampaging Maori war parties, illicit sexual liaisons and incarceration in Sydney's Hyde Park Barracks, forgery, betrayal and death at sea. A tempestuous romance and a lively adventure with a fiery and memorable heroine, Kitty is a stand-alone novel, with potential as an ongoing saga of love and adventure on the high seas in the Pacific of the 1800s, by one of our leading historical novelists."
"Part one of the bestselling saga of love and adventure on the high seas in the Pacific of the 1800s, by one of our leading historical novelists.
When 18-year-old Kitty Carlisle's father dies in 1838, her suddenly impoverished mother hopes her beautiful daughter might at least find a good husband. But then Kitty is compromised by an unscrupulous adventurer, and she is banished in disgrace to the colonies.
In the infamous whaling port of Kororareka - known as the Hell-Hole of the Pacific - Kitty falls in love with Rian Farrell, a mysterious sea captain with secrets of his own. Shocking events force her to flee the Bay of Islands for Sydney, but her independent heart leads her into a web of illicit sexual liaison, betrayal and death.
Part one of the bestselling saga of love and adventure on the high seas in the Pacific of the 1800s, by one of our leading historical novelists.
‘Challinor is extraordinarily talented.' - New Zealand Books"
"A captivating story of family and friendship through one decade of incredible change, from NZ's no.1 bestselling author.
In 1950s Auckland things are changing - and fast. Women are joining the workforce in numbers, whitegoods are readily available and the age of rock'n' roll has arrived.
Allie Manaia works the Elizabeth Arden counter at Smith and Caughey's. It's been two years since the Dunbar and Jones fire, where some of her friends perished, but she still has nightmares.
Kathleen Lawson -- rich, lonely and bored -- is one of Allie's customers. Kathleen takes a shine to Allie, but when Kathleen discovers Allie's husband is Maori, her attitude changes. Is she trying to make friends or poison the relationship between Sonny and Allie?
Meanwhile, Sonny's beautiful younger sister, Polly, is embracing the more relaxed moral standards of the era, living a vibrant but wayward life as a waitress-model-goodtime girl while leaving her young daughter to be raised by her mother.
As each woman navigates the shifting social and cultural landscape of the 1950s, she is faced with new possibilities and decisions - with freedom comes joy, but also fear and, occasionally, mistakes.
Told in Deborah Challinor's trademark style - equal parts heart and humour - From the Ashes follows the fortunes of the women of three families through one decade of incredible change.
Praise for Deborah Challinor:
'Challinor is a good storyteller ... seamlessly joining fact and fiction and creating a convincing, atmospheric yarn' Bookseller + Publisher
'The perfect blend of fact and fiction' New Zealand Herald"
"1832: Convict girls Friday Woolfe, Sarah Morgan and Harriet Clarke have been serving their sentences in Sydney Town. Each of them has begun to make a life for herself, but when Harrie's adopted child Charlotte is abducted, the girls must risk their very freedom to save her. But will Friday’s desperate battle with her own vices drive her to fail not only herself, but those she loves and all who love her?"
"1831: Assigned to a good family in Sydney town and now learning the art of tattoo, convict girl Harrie Clarke is still haunted by the horror of the brutal murder she, Friday Woolfe and Sarah Morgan committed the previous year. Powerful and vindictive criminal Bella Jackson continues to demand money in exchange for her silence regarding their crime. And when things go from bad to much, much worse for Harrie, she is left teetering on the brink."
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