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'Normandy, France, 1891: a young woman painstakingly sews an intricate beaded collar to her wedding dress, the night before her marriage to someone she barely knows. Yet Aimee longs for so much more ...
'Shanghai, 1926: dancing sensation and wild child Zephyr spies what looks like a beaded headpiece lying carelessly discarded on a ballroom floor. She takes it with her to Malaya where she sets her sights on a prize so out of reach that, in striving for it, she will jeopardise everything she holds dear ...
'PRECIOUS THINGS tells the story of a collar - a wonderful, glittering beaded piece - and its journey through the decades. It's also the story of Maggie, an auctioneer living in modern-day London, who comes across the crumpled, neglected collar in a box of old junk, and sets out on an unexpected mission to discover more about its secret and elusive past.
'Maggie has a journey of her own too. Juggling a demanding job, a clingy young child and a rebellious stepdaughter, and with her once-solid marriage foundering under the pressure of a busy life, Maggie has to find out the hard way that you can't always get what you want... but sometimes, you're lucky enough to get precisely what you need.
'This is a wonderful, absorbing and moving novel about desire, marriage and family, telling the story about how we so often reach out for the sparkly, shiny things (and people) we desire, only to realise - in the nick of time - that the most precious things are the ones we've had with us all along.'
Source: Publisher's blurb.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Sound recording.
- Braille.
- Large print.
Works about this Work
-
Precious Things Review : Craft to the Fore in Kelly Doust's Debut Novel
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Brisbane Times , 25 June 2016;
— Review of Precious Things 2016 single work novel 'In writing her debut novel Kelly Doust has employed her occupation as a craft and fashion writer to enrich the texture of her narrative. The connecting motif of Precious Things is an exquisite, antique beaded collar that has been discovered by a London auctioneer, Maggie, who is determined to explore the collar's provenance. ...' -
Craft to the Fore in a Textured Debut
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 25-26 June 2016; (p. 30)
— Review of Precious Things 2016 single work novel -
[Untitled]
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 28 May 2016; (p. 36)
— Review of Precious Things 2016 single work novel -
Precious Things : Review
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 11 June 2016; (p. 37)
— Review of Precious Things 2016 single work novel 'Maggie is struggling to balance work and family – a familiar story to many. She is also obsessed with the history of a handmade dress collar she has found in a box of discarded items while working her high-powered job at an auction house. ...'
-
Precious Things : Review
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 11 June 2016; (p. 37)
— Review of Precious Things 2016 single work novel 'Maggie is struggling to balance work and family – a familiar story to many. She is also obsessed with the history of a handmade dress collar she has found in a box of discarded items while working her high-powered job at an auction house. ...' -
[Untitled]
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser , 28 May 2016; (p. 36)
— Review of Precious Things 2016 single work novel -
Craft to the Fore in a Textured Debut
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: The Saturday Age , 25-26 June 2016; (p. 30)
— Review of Precious Things 2016 single work novel -
Precious Things Review : Craft to the Fore in Kelly Doust's Debut Novel
2016
single work
review
— Appears in: Brisbane Times , 25 June 2016;
— Review of Precious Things 2016 single work novel 'In writing her debut novel Kelly Doust has employed her occupation as a craft and fashion writer to enrich the texture of her narrative. The connecting motif of Precious Things is an exquisite, antique beaded collar that has been discovered by a London auctioneer, Maggie, who is determined to explore the collar's provenance. ...'