Separation, The

The Separation by Dinah Jefferies is a sweeping novel set in 1950s Malaya, about a mother searching for her daughters. What happens when a mother and her daughters are separated; who do they become when they believe it might be forever? 1953, the eve of the Cartwright's departure from Malaya. Eleven-year-old Emma can't understand why they're leaving without their mother; why her taciturn father is refusing to answer questions. Lydia arrives home to an empty house - there's no sign of her husband Alec or her daughters. Panic stricken, she embarks on a dangerous journey to find them through the hot and civil-war-torn Malayan jungle - one that only the power of a mother's love can help her to survive. Dinah Jefferies was born in Malaya in 1948 and moved to England at the age of nine. She has worked in education, once lived in a 'rock 'n roll' commune and, more recently, been an exhibiting artist. She spends her days writing, with time off to make tiaras and dinosaurs with her grandchildren. The Separation is her first book. FROM THE NUMBER 1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE TEA PLANTER'S WIFE The Separation by Dinah Jefferies is a sweeping novel set in 1950s Malaya, about a mother searching for her daughters.What happens when a mother and her daughters are separated; who do they become when they believe it might be forever? 1953, the eve of the Cartwright's departure from Malaya. Eleven-year-old Emma can't understand why they're leaving without their mother; why her taciturn father is refusing to answer questions.Lydia arrives home to an empty house - there's no sign of her husband Alec or her daughters. Panic stricken, she embarks on a dangerous journey to find them through the hot and civil-war-torn Malayan jungle - one that only the power of a mother's love can help her to survive.Dinah Jefferies was born in Malaya in 1948 and moved to England at the age of nine. She has worked in education, once lived in a 'rock 'n roll' commune and, more recently, been an exhibiting artist. She spends her days writing, with time off to make tiaras and dinosaurs with her grandchildren. The Separation is her first book FROM THE NUMBER 1 BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE TEA PLANTER'S WIFE The Separation, Dinah Jefferies' stunning debut novel, is the heartbreaking tale of a family fractured by lies and one mother's love reaching across the distance of years and continents. A country at war with itself, a family divided and betrayed, a bond that can never be broken... Malaya, 1955. Lydia Cartwright returns from visiting a sick friend to an empty house. The servants are gone. The phone is dead. Where is her husband Alec? Her young daughters, Emma and Fleur? Fearful and desperate, she contacts the British District Officer and learns that Alec has been posted up country. But why didn't he wait? Why did he leave no message? Lydia's search takes her on a hazardous journey through war-torn jungle. Forced to turn to Jack Harding, a man she'd vowed to leave in her past, she sacrifices everything to be reunited with her family. And while carrying her own secrets, Lydia will soon face a devastating betrayal which may be more than she can bear . . .