Book description
A compelling sequel to the bestselling novel THE DENNISTON ROSE
Eighteen years have passed since the child Rose arrived on Denniston,
riding up the terrifying Incline on a stormy night. She has now grown
into a young woman, intelligent and talented, with an outrageous zest
for life. The trauma of her early years seems forgotten, though some
recognise its shadow in her often unconventional behaviour. Rose is
expected to marry her childhood friend the golden Michael Hanratty, but
when dark and stubborn Brennan Scobie arrives back on the Hill after a
seven-year absence, a challenge is inevitable. The opposition of
Brennan's ambitious mother adds to the tension. This sequel to the
best-selling The Denniston Rose continues to follow the fortunes of the
remote West Coast coal-mining settlement. At the turn of the century
Denniston is still isolated, but all that is about to change. New
challenges will confront both Rose and this close-knit society. Staying
or leaving will become an option. Heart of Coal is about loss and love,
hope and despair. It is a story of convention and the lack of it and of
the uncompromising spirit of a unique woman. Jenny Pattrick is a
writer and former jeweller whose six published novels, including The
Denniston Rose, its sequel Heart of Coal, the Whanganui novel Landings,
and Inheritance, set in Samoa, have all been number one bestsellers in
New Zealand. In 2009 she received the New Zealnd Post Mansfield
Fellowship. In 2011 she and husband, musician Laughton Pattrick,
published the children s book and CD of songs, The Very Important
Godwit.
