TheTea Planter's Wife

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.

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 . . .

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

Beautifully written and heart rending, this has a magical setting with a real sense of period. A gloriously atmospheric and tension-filled novel that centres on the separation of a mother and her child. Immensely enjoyable, poignant and compellingVibrant and compelling - Dinah Jefferies perfectly captures the flavour of colonial CeylonI was spellbound from beginning to endA wonderful book, deeply touching and an unforgettable read that swept me away. I loved it.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.A terrific emotional and atmospheric readDeeply atmospheric and utterly engrossingRich and incredibly evocative, historical fiction at its best...it's just spellbinding

A full-blown escape into the past

A gripping tale of love, jealousy, greed and tragedy