Before Dorothy

(Paperback)

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Description

The greatest journey is the one you least expect
Kansas 1932

When news reaches Kansas that her beloved sister has tragically died, Emily Gale must become a mother overnight. Her sisters orphaned child, Dorothy, desperately needs a home.

But Emily doubts her ability to fill her sisters shoes; her life on the barren Kansas prairies is no place for a child.

On the unforgiving plains, Emily's courage is endlessly tested. The prolonged drought and relentless dust storms threaten to destroy everything including her home and her marriage.

Can Emily overcome her grief and let Dorothy heal her heart

From the promise of Chicago in the 1920s to the harsh beauty of the Kansas prairie during the dust bowl of the 1930s, this is a story of family, duty and one womans journey of self-discovery.

Reviews

Acclaim for Hazel Gaynor:

Deeply moving. Be prepared have handkerchiefs on standby at the end Antonia Senior, The Times

'A great read beautifully written, with the alternative perspectives of child and adult giving a great depth of characterisationThat it is based on real events only serves to make the tale more powerful. Highly recommended' Liz Trenow, bestselling author of Under a Wartime Sky

A moving and authentic account of a neglected part of WW2 history. I empathised with the plight of the characters and felt as if I were there Dinah Jefferies

Ive been completely swept away Set in wartime China, it transported me utterly vivid, heart-rending and so, so beautiful. I loved it Jenny Ashcroft

'Stunning Based on an incredible true story, The Bird in the Bamboo Cage is immersive, moving and utterly unforgettable' Catherine Ryan Howard, Irish Times bestselling author of The Nothing Man

'A beautiful, tender & fascinating story of a group of young British schoolchildren interned by the Japanese during WWIIa gem' Sinead Moriarty, Irish Times bestselling author of Seven Letters

'Above all this is a novel about human courage, generosity of spirit, and the power of friendship. I was hooked from first to last page' Gill Paul, USA Today bestselling author of The Secret Wife

'A little-known corner of the war absolutely fascinating. Beautiful descriptions of the seasons changing over China and characters who had me rooting for them all the way.' Tracy Rees, bestselling author of Amy Snow

Author Bio

Hazel Gaynor is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of A Memory of Violets and The Girl Who Came Home, for which she received the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year award. Her third novel, The Girl from the Savoy, was an Irish Times and Globe & Mail Canada bestseller, and was shortlisted for the BGE Irish Book Awards Popular Fiction Book of the Year. In 2017, she has published The Cottingley Secret and Last Christmas in Paris. Hazel was selected by US Library Journal as one of 'Ten Big Breakout Authors' for 2015 and her work has been translated into several languages. Hazel lives in Ireland with her husband and two children.