The Jade Widow

Description

A captivating historical novel of pioneering Australian women finding their way in a man s world, from the author of the bestselling Mr Chen s Emporium. It is 1885, and Amy Chen is still in black, more than a decade after the death of her beloved husband Charles. But her widow s weeds belie a determined young woman with a big ambition- Amy is going to build the grandest rural hotel in the colony of New South Wales, complete with its very own ascending cabinet . Meanwhile, her best friend, Eliza Miller, has dreams of her own - to become one of Australia s first female doctors. However when she returns to Millbrooke from her medical studies at the Sorbonne, she finds the job she thought was hers has been taken by a man. Over the course of two turbulent years both women will face difficult choices love or duty? Career or marriage? Is it possible to have it all ?

Deborah O'Brien is a teacher, visual artist and writer. Although she was born and educated in Sydney, she has family links to rural New South Wales by way of her father and her maternal grandmother. Together with her husband and son, she divides her time between the city and a country cottage, overlooking a creek frequented by platypuses. It is her dream to own a small herd of alpacas. She has authored several non-fiction books, contributed articles to a variety of magazines and written short stories. The Jade Widow is her second novel, following the bestselling Mr Chen's Emporium.