About this ebook
At the dawn of World War Two, German-born nurse Emma Taylor sits by the bedside of a Jewish heiress in London as she reminisces over her dear friend, Oscar Wilde.
As the story of Wilde unravels, so does Emma's past. What really happened to her husband?
She's taken back to her days in Singapore on the eve of World War One. To her disappointing marriage to a British export agent, her struggle to fit into colonial life and the need to hide her true identity.
Emma is caught up in history, the highs, the lows, the adventures. A deadly mutiny, terrifying rice riots and a confrontation with the Ku Klux Klan bring home, for all migrants, the fragility of belonging.
Ratings and reviews
4.0
1 review
Grace J. Reviewerlady
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April 18, 2022
A wonderful tale of a life well-lived. As World War Two is imminent, nurse Emma Taylor is tending to her patient, a Jewish heiress who reminisces about her friendship with Oscar Wilde and this sets Emma to recalling her life with her husband, Ernest. We are privy to her memories of life including time spent in the colonies, the good and the bad. This is my first foray into reading this author and I really enjoyed this story; it is an excellent imagining of a life well lived, of a woman who did her best and it is a book which, once begun, has to be completed. A glimpse into how women were treated and expected to behave in times gone by. I enjoyed reading about Emma’s life in Singapore but what really had me enthralled was her time in Japan as I have family living there, and it is so interesting to discover the differences between then and now. This is a very interesting novel and one which I relished reading. Four stars and my recommendation.
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