{"title":"Emma Harcourt","description":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome to the captivating world of Emma Harcourt, where historical fiction comes alive through meticulous research and vivid storytelling. A master storyteller, Emma breathes life into bygone eras, offering readers an immersive escape into the past.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEmma Harcourt's collection features exceptional works such as \u003cem\u003eThe Brightest Star\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Shanghai Wife\u003c\/em\u003e. These novels transport readers through time, weaving intricate narratives set against historical backdrops that are both enlightening and inspiring.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Shanghai Wife\u003c\/em\u003e paints a vibrant picture of 1920s Shanghai, a city teeming with intrigue and cultural exchange, as it follows the journey of a courageous young woman navigating love and risk. This narrative offers a fascinating look at a pivotal era, enveloped in Harcourt's signature style of lush, detailed prose.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Brightest Star\u003c\/em\u003e continues to showcase Emma's talent for creating dynamic, strong female protagonists. Her stories often highlight themes of resilience and courage amid societal challenges, making them not only compelling but also deeply resonant for contemporary readers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEmma Harcourt's novels are a gateway for history enthusiasts and fiction lovers alike, providing gripping tales rooted in historical authenticity. Dive into her collection and discover stories that illuminate the past while leaving an indelible mark on the present.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-shanghai-wife-by-emma-harcourt-9781489280947","title":"The Shanghai Wife","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eForbidden friendship, political conspiracy, and incendiary passion draw Australian woman Annie Brand deep into the glamour and turmoil of 1920s Shanghai.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLeaving behind the loneliness and trauma of her past in country Australia, Annie Brand arrives in the midst of the political upheaval and glittering international society of Shanghai in the 1920s. Journeying up the Yangtze with her new husband, the ship's captain, Annie revels in the sense of adventure. However, when her husband sends her back to Shanghai, her freedom is quickly curtailed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAgainst her will, Annie finds herself living alone in the International Settlement, increasingly suffocated by the judgemental Club ladies and their exclusive social scene—one even more restrictive than the one she came from. Tired of salacious gossip and foreign condescension, and desperate to shake off the restrictions of her position in the world, Annie is slowly drawn into the bustling life and otherness of the real Shanghai. She begins to see the world from the perspective of the local people, including the servants who work at her husband's Club.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBut this world is far more complex and dangerous than the curious Annie understands, and unknowingly, she becomes caught in a web of intrigue and conspiracy, as well as a passionate forbidden love affair she could not have predicted—one with far-reaching consequences.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMore Praise\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\"Emma's book is lyrical and beautiful... she has written a love story as dangerous and exotic as the worlds she describes.\" — Caroline Overington, author of \u003cem\u003eThe Lucky One\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe One Who Got Away\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Arotahi Agency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46555908538604,"sku":"9781489280947","price":21.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/6432253482718.jpg?v=1750123868"},{"product_id":"the-brightest-star-by-emma-harcourt-9781489249166","title":"The Brightest Star","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA thirst for learning and a passion for astronomy draw an extraordinary young woman deep into the intellectual maelstrom, political complexities, and religious extremism of Renaissance Florence. This beautifully crafted novel will appeal to readers of Karen Brooks' \u003cem\u003eThe Good Wife of Bath\u003c\/em\u003e and Pip Williams' \u003cem\u003eDictionary of Lost Words\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Brightest Star\u003c\/em\u003e is set in 1496, the height of the Renaissance and its flowering of intellectual and artistic endeavour, yet the city-state of Florence is in the grip of fundamentalist preacher Friar Girolamo Savonarola. Its good people believe the Lord speaks through him, just as certainly as the Sun circles the Earth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor Leonarda Lunetta, the eldest daughter of the learned Signore Vincenzio Fusili, religion is not as interesting as the books she shares with her beloved father. Reading is an escape from the ridicule flung her way, for Luna is not like other girls. She was born with a misshapen leg, and that, along with her passion for intellectual pursuits, alters how society sees her and how she sees the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLuna wants to know, to learn, to become an astronomer who charts the night sky—certainly not the dutiful, marriageable daughter all of Florence society insists upon. So when Luna meets astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, she is not surprised that his heretical beliefs confirm her view that the world is not as it is presented—or how it could be. These dangerous ideas bring her into conflict with the preacher Savonarola, and her future is changed irrevocably as politics, extremism, and belief systems ignite in a dangerous conflagration.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLuna is a woman born out of time, the brightest star of her generation, but can she reconcile the girl of her father's making with this new version of herself? And if she does, will Renaissance Italy prove too perilous and dark a place for a free-thinking woman?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Arotahi Agency","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47341228032236,"sku":"9781489249166","price":35.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9781489249166.jpg?v=1772187059"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.pro\/collections\/emma-harcourt.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}