AustLit

'In one despairing moment Theodosios abandons his wife and gorilla child and then spends a lifetime trying to get them back. But what's a lifetime in a place like this?

'One minute you're a woman. The next you're a bear. There's a woman here who is neither man nor woman. And a man who's both man and beast.

'Here nothing belongs to you - not even your grief. People steal your letters and gossip your thoughts before you've spoken them. And when they're desperate - and at some point everyone is desperate - they go to the whorehouse. . . From the centre of chaos, Mirella, the ancient whore, finds a calm place to tell this unforgettable, timeless tale.' (Publication summary)

'Mary Horton is content with her comfortable, solitary existence . . . until she meets Tim. A beautiful young man with the mind of a child – a gentle outcast in a cruel, unbending world – he illuminates the darkness of Mary's days with his boyish innocence. And he will shatter the lonely, middle-aged spinster's respectable, ordered life with a forbidden promise of a very special love.' (Publication summary)

'The Second World War has just ended and Sister Honour Langtree, a caring and conscientious Army nurse, cares for a striking mixture of five battle-broken soldiers being treated in the psychiatric care section of the hospital. To the soldiers, Honour is a precious, adored reminder of the world before war – they are as devoted to her as she is to them.

'Then Seargent Michael Wilson arrives. A damaged and decorated hero, Wilson is a man of secrets and silent pain. Honour finds herself drawn to this tortured man, and discovers a love that will ultimately lead to a violent tragedy.'

Source : publisher's blurb