I’m Emilia Hart, the author of Weyward, and I’m so excited to be reaching out to you about my new novel, The Sirens.
In writing this novel, I’ve taken inspiration from the rugged, sea-swept cliffs of the Australian coastline – and my own family history. As a young girl, I devoured my grandmother’s stories of our Irish ancestors, women who emigrated to Australia in the 19th century, fleeing famine and poverty.
But I was recently surprised to learn that an ancestor on the other side of my family had actually
captained a convict ship, transporting Irish prisoners – men and women like my grandmother’s forebears – to Australia. The captain – my father’s ancestor – was so negligent that many of his charges perished at sea.
“If there’s one thread that links these stories, it’s hope. The hope that sisterhood – at last – can turn the tide.”
I was haunted by the thought of the female convicts in particular. What would it take, to survive such a journey? How would it change you? It was like the women were begging for their story to be told – calling to me with their siren song. My characters, Mary and Eliza, were born: twin sisters raised to fear the
water, but who share a secret affinity with the ocean’s waves
But the story wasn’t done with me yet. As I read more about Australia’s female convicts and the sexist myths weaved around them, I began to see a parallel with modern day misogyny. Australian women are no longer labelled ‘concubines’ and ‘whores’, but they are still subject to sexual harassment; their bodies are still used against them. The novel expanded to include a second set of sisters – Lucy and Jess, living in modern-day Australia, with their own secrets to keep.
You’ll have to read the book to learn what connects these two sets of sisters. For now, I’ll say this much: if there’s one thread that links these stories, it’s hope. The hope that sisterhood – at last – can turn the tide.
Thank you for reading
Emilia Hart x
About the book
9780008499136 | HB | £18.99 | Available Now
Lucy is running from what she’s done – and what someone did to her.
There’s only one person who might understand: her sister Jess. But when Lucy arrives at her sister’s desolate cliff-top house, Jess is gone.
Lucy is now alone, in a strange town steeped in rumour. Stories of men disappearing without a trace. A foundling discovered in a sea-swept cave. And women’s voices murmuring on the waves…
As Lucy searches for her sister, those voices get ever louder. They tell of two sisters, two centuries ago, bound and transported across the world. A world where men always get their way. A world that is at once distant, and achingly familiar.
Are these voices luring Lucy closer to her sister? Or will the secrets of the past pull them both under?
