The Pearl of Penang
The Pearl of Penang, is set on the island of Penang in Malaya (now Malaysia) in 1939 to post-war. It was published in paperback on 30th October 2019 and as an e-book on 5th December 2019.
The Pearl of Penang was awarded the 2020 BookBrunch Selfies Adult Fiction prize on 30th March in a ceremony via Zoom due to the cancellation of the London Book Fair where it was to have been presented. Here is Clare’s interview with BookBrunch after the award was made.
“Following the death of my wife, I am in need of support and companionship. I am prepared to make you an offer of marriage.”
Evie Fraser, paid companion to a crotchety spinster, seems destined for a lonely life. Then out of the blue, a marriage proposal arrives by post. She met the handsome Douglas Barrington just once – at his wedding – but never forgot him. Now widowed, plantation-owner Douglas offers her a new life on the lush, exotic island of Penang. How can Evie resist?
But what are Barrington’s motives in marrying Evie when he barely knows her, and why is he so hostile and moody?
Evie soon finds herself pitched against Douglas on the one hand and the shallow, often spiteful world of the expatriate British on the other. Has she made the biggest mistake of her life?
Clare’s tenth novel explores love, marriage, the impact of war and the challenges of displacement – this time in a tropical paradise as the threat of the Japanese empire looms closer.
Had the London Book Fair proceeded the award was to have been made by the multi-million selling British crime writer LJ Ross, who subsequently selected The Pearl of Penang as one of her four Book Club Picks for May 2020 alongside Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca, SE Lyne’s Can You See Her and Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep. What fantastic company to be in! Here is a short video I made to talk to Louise’s Book Club members about the book.
The Pearl of Penang has been awarded a coveted Discovered Diamond review from leading historical fiction review website, Discovering Diamonds – which means it gained a 5-star rating by the blog.
It was also the runner-up for their Book of the Month!
What readers are saying about The Pearl of Penang
“You laugh; you cry; you agonize; you share all the emotions of the characters as you watch their development. I found it very hard to put down.”
Fran
Other books in this series:
