What connects a botanical illustration of a butterfly with a missing baby and an enigma fifty years in the making? A twisty historical mystery from a bestselling Australian author.
1868 Morpeth. Theodora Breckenridge, still in mourning after the loss of her parents and brother at sea, is more interested in working quietly on her art at the family’s country estate than she is finding a husband in Sydney society – even if her elder sister Florence has other ideas. Theodora seeks to emulate the prestigious Scott sisters, nature illustrators who lived nearby, so she cannot believe her luck when she discovers a butterfly never before sighted in Australia. With the help of Clarrie, her maid, and her beautiful illustrations, she is poised to make a natural science discovery that will put her name on the map. Then Clarrie’s new-born son goes missing and everything changes.
1922 Sydney. When would-be correspondent Verity Binks is sent an anonymous parcel containing a spectacular butterfly costume and an invitation to the Sydney Artists Masquerade Ball on the same day she loses her job at The Arrow, she is both baffled and determined to go. Her late grandfather Sid, an esteemed newspaperman, would expect no less of her. At the ball, she lands a juicy commission to write the history of the Treadwell Foundation – an institution that supports disgraced young women and their babies. But as she begins to dig, her investigation quickly leads her to an increasingly dark and complex mystery – a mystery fifty years in the making. Can she solve it? And will anyone believe her if she does?
From Tea Cooper, the bestselling author of The Cartographer’s Secret, The Girl in the Painting, The Woman in the Green Dress and The Fossil Hunter, comes this sweeping work of historical fiction that is sure to dazzle new and long-time fans alike.
Like Cooper’s previous works, The Butterfly Collector blends meticulous research with gorgeous prose to bring Australian history to life in a way that is captivating, vivid and absolutely new. The novel shifts between dual timelines to tell the story of the Monarch butterfly’s discovery in Australia, while also shedding light on the disturbing treatment that unwed mothers and their babies suffered during this period. Cooper weaves both strands together to deliver a moving, evocative and eye-opening historical mystery with two strong female protagonists at its centre.
Perfect for fans of Jackie French and Kayte Nunn, The Butterfly Collector is a marvellous Australian historical, reminding readers why Cooper sits atop this genre. Pour yourself a cup of tea, put your feet up and settle in with this engrossing read.
Thanks Better Reading for the opportunity to preview and review this fabulous book. Loved it!!