These descriptions are always lush and vivid, it’s evident the author herself is a keen traveller and loves animals. The author presents a grand multi layered story which takes us over more than one continent, from the home the girls loved in Prague, all the way to Australia where their uncle has settled after spending most of his life travelling the globe. She must take extra care of her younger and more sensitive sister, Klára.

The sisters love each other deeply, and as their dear mum passes away, the message is loud and clear for big sister Adéla. To me this marriage was fraught, I’m not sure why their mother chose this lazy and manipulative fraudster. Their mother remarried somewhat unwisely this man is a greedy villain and will not stop until he can get his hands on the family money. The only thing missing is their beloved father, who had previously passed away. In a compelling and exquisite blend of memoir and history, Belinda shows readers that, no matter what challenge they might be facing, there is always the possibility of building a bold life full of meaning again from the ashes.Sisters Adéla and Klára live a charmed life in Europe, with their loving mother. They were women who had faced seemingly insurmountable challenges and found ways to forge ahead on their own terms. To pull herself up from rock bottom, Belinda drew strength from the real life women who had inspired her bestselling historical fiction: her mother, Tatiana Morosoff, a White Russian who had fled a home more than once due to wars and revolutions Virginia Hall, an American who lost her leg in an accident but went on to become one of the most revered Allied agents in World War II France Carmen Amaya, who despite being born into abject poverty in Barcelona rose to become the greatest Flamenco dancer of all time Edna Walling, who lost her own dream home in a freak fire but created garden designs that made her one of Australia’s most celebrated landscape designers.

That was the question beloved Australian author Belinda Alexandra faced one freezing winter night when she ran from her home in terror, clutching only her wallet, her phone and her latest manuscript on a USB stick.

On finding the fire to keep going when all seems lost How do you begin your life again when you’ve lost everything you’ve worked for and your dreams have been shattered?

Silver Wattle by Belinda Alexandra