{"product_id":"9781460750018_the-river-sings","title":"The River Sings","description":"\u003cp\u003e'Look first. Reach second. Vanish third.'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eLondon, 1825:  Eglantine has always had an eye for the shine. Born the same day as the young princess destined to be queen, Eglantine has an altogether different path ahead of her, strewn with the glittering waste of her father's ambitions.  Her mysteriously prosperous father, Mr Amberline Stark, is a man of great expectations. He coaxes her to follow in his footsteps, making picking pockets a delightful parlour game which they play in their fine house by the Thames. Eglantine's life before her arrival at the house remains a mystery, her memories wrapped up in a small doll she keeps close to her, and with it the fragmentary recollections of her mother.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt is only when Amberline is caught and transported as a thief to the penal colony of Australia, that Eglantine has to grow up and fend for herself using her only skill. Reluctantly, the thief's daughter becomes a thief, until a chance meeting gives her a window on a new way of being, and the opportunity to strike out into a new and untarnished world. But will the weight of her father's choices make her a prisoner in the house at the side of the Thames?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBirth and death, love and sadness, love knots and cut ties, quicksilver and shine, old worlds and new beginnings, Sandra Leigh Price weaves another gritty and beguiling story that will enchant and delight readers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePraise for \u003cem\u003eThe River Sings:\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003e'The River Sings \u003c\/em\u003epacks an emotional punch ... each page will grip you by the heart and drag you in.  A lyrical work of great mastery, from a beautiful storyteller who knows just what words to use and when, \u003cem\u003eThe River Sings \u003c\/em\u003ewill call to you long after you turn the final page, just as the river does to Eglantine.'  \u003cem\u003eBetter Reading\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'\u003c\/em\u003eRich and lyrical ... Sandra Leigh Price is a beautiful wordsmith ... engrossing' \u003cem\u003eAustralian Women's Weekly\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e'Richly imaginative' \u003cem\u003eSydney Morning Herald\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Price weaves a magical tale that is rich in history and atmosphere that will sing to your traveller's soul' \u003cem\u003eGood Reading\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'It's impossible not to be charmed by\u003cem\u003e The River Sings ... i\u003c\/em\u003et flirts with the works of Charles Dickens in a way that's startlingly clever. It's \u003cem\u003eOliver Twist \u003c\/em\u003ewith a feminist twist;\u003cem\u003e Great Expectations \u003c\/em\u003eremixed ...  it's unique; a richly imaginative work of literary fiction that sparkles with sheer joy.'  \u003cem\u003eNewtown Review of Books\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePraise for \u003cem\u003eThe Bird's Child\u003c\/em\u003e:\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'A wonderful, strange, glittering book, full of astounding imagination, glorious really.' Edward Carey, author of \u003cem\u003eHeap House\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'A shimmering dream of haunted pasts. A silver girl. Abandoned boys. All the magic of the stage. \u003cem\u003eThe Bird's Child\u003c\/em\u003e is a delight.' Essie Fox, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Somnambulist\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'\u003cem\u003eThe Bird's Child\u003c\/em\u003e is entirely original, its familiar Sydney settings set asparkle and rendered dreamlike by Sandra Leigh Price's lyrical and lovely writing. This is a magical fable that penetrates to deep emotional truths.' Geraldine Brooks\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'This debut novel brings 1920s Sydney to life through a fairytale lens, highlighting the city's romance, its magic and its mystery ... It is the Australian setting that sets this quirky historical romance apart from others of its genre. Price's dream-like portrayal of a bygone Sydney - with its vaudeville shows and opium dens, lyrebirds and swagmen - establishes a unique mood that transforms the local into the exotic, making \u003cem\u003eThe Bird's Child\u003c\/em\u003e a memorable tale.' Australian Book Review\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Gritty yet enchanting ... often deliciously sumptuous and erotically charged ... unusual, imaginative' Newtown Review of Books \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Skilfully written and richly imagined' Sydney Morning Herald \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sandra Leigh Price","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46896710418581,"sku":"9781460750018","price":32.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0484\/3175\/9509\/files\/9781460750018_005122ab-0fbc-4a88-9100-48fdd9f0637f.jpg?v=1776888405","url":"https:\/\/harpercollins.com.au\/products\/9781460750018_the-river-sings","provider":"HarperCollins AU","version":"1.0","type":"link"}