“Echoes of Empire of the Sun and The Poisonwood Bible”
“A wonderful ,special book. I inhaled it.”
Lushan, Jiangxi Province, 1941
Atop the fabled mountain of Lushan, celebrated for its temples, capricious mists and plunging ravines, perches a boarding school for the children of British missionaries. As the parents pursue their calling to bring the gospel to China’s most remote provinces, ten-year-old Henrietta S. Robertson discovers that she has been singled out for a divine calling of her own.
Also available in e-book
Published by Tinder Press, January, 2016
“I fell in love with this book and its heroine. Mackenzie is a self-assured and poetic storyteller. This is a wonderful, special book. I inhaled it.”
“Such a wonderful voice, very funny and very moving.”
“An evocative and involving book with a wonderful setting”
“It’s already being hailed as “poignant”, “beautiful” and “funny” - we’d happily add wonderful to that list. ”
“Vividly realised”
“A beautifully poignant book that vividly and originally draws a picture of life in China during the Sino-Japanese war. It is a story full of adolescent verve, young girls coming of age as the world around them falls apart, that remains somehow delightful, both playful and tender, as it breaks your heart. I loved it.”
“Rebecca Mackenzie’s vigorous prose is original and highly evocative. The untameable beauty of China’s Lushan mountain and the dangers that lie beyond are echoed in the dramatic landscapes that Etta must navigate within herself. Her fate will linger in your thoughts long after the story ends”
“Henrietta S Robertson is a beguiling, wilful and wonderfully realised creation, whose humour, yearning and imagination will captivate readers. I was hooked, and devoured the novel in two readings. This is a wonderful debut from Rebecca Mackenzie.”