Rebecca, you must find the Childstones and give them back. My mother told me to find them. She had the dream too. But I never had the time... never did get back to the quest. They were the sacred relics of the local Aborigines. There'll be no peace for us until they're returned to their rightful home. The trail meanders back through the interwoven lives of the seven daughters, back through Rebecca's ancestors: the unloved schoolgirl encountering the '60s sexual revolution; the cynical Second World War concert pianist; the older woman wandering the desert; the nurse at the time of the influenza epidemic; the deserting soldier killed on the Somme; the brilliant Jenny Wren, the music hall diva; betrayed Mary, the settler's wife, and her first encounter with the Aborigines; winding finally to the vengeful Poll McPherson on the Ballarat goldfields in the 1850s. For Rebecca, lost in the past, finding the Childstones is only the beginning of her story.
Author
Kerry Greenwood was born in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray and after wandering far and wide, she returned to live there. She has a degree in English and Law from Melbourne University and was admitted to the legal profession on the 1st April 1982, a day which she finds both soothing and significant. Kerry has written twenty novels, a number of plays, including The Troubadours with Stephen D'Arcy, is an award-winning children's writer and has edited and contributed to several anthologies. In 1996 she published a book of essays on female murderers called Things She Loves: Why women Kill. The Phryne Fisher series (pronounced Fry-knee, to rhyme with briny) began in 1989 with Cocaine Blues which was a great success. Kerry has written thirteen books in this series with no sign yet of Miss Fisher hanging up her pearl-handled pistol. Kerry says that as long as people want to read them, she can keep writing them. Kerry Greenwood has worked as a folk singer, factory hand, director, producer, translator, costume-maker, cook and is currently a solicitor. When she is not writing, she works as a locum solicitor for the Victorian Legal Aid. She is also the unpaid curator of seven thousand books, three cats (Attila, Belladonna and Ashe) and a computer called Apple (which squeaks). She embroiders very well but cannot knit. She has flown planes and leapt out of them (with a parachute) in an attempt to cure her fear of heights (she is now terrified of jumping out of planes but can climb ladders without fear). She can detect second-hand bookshops from blocks away and is often found within them. For fun Kerry reads science fiction/fantasy and detective stories. She is not married, has no children and lives with a registered wizard. When she is not doing any of the above she stares blankly out of the window. http://www.earthlydelights.net.au
