The hand of friendship can span a thousand miles...
Sara MacDonald Book order
This author explores themes of displacement and the search for identity, often set against exotic and varied backdrops. Her prose is characterized by a deep psychological insight into her characters and a keen sense of place that brings every locale to life. With finely drawn characters and narratives that resonate, she draws readers into worlds rich with emotional depth and unexpected turns. Her language is both poetic and incisive, capturing the complexities of human connection and the perpetual search for belonging.






- 2022
- 2019
In a Kingdom by the Sea
- 448 pages
- 16 hours of reading
A sweeping, evocative story of love, secrets and betrayal, set against the stunning backdrops of Karachi and Cornwall. Perfect for readers who love Santa Montefiore, Rosanna Ley and Dinah Jefferies.
- 2014
Recovering Hegel from the critique of Leo Strauss
- 164 pages
- 6 hours of reading
Recovering Hegel from the Critique of Leo Strauss provides a study unique in its focus on Leo Strauss's reading of Hegel. While MacDonald and Craig find value in Strauss's thought, they argue that his pessimism concerning modernity lies in a misunderstanding of both modernity's greatest philosophical advocate, G.W.F. Hegel, and modernity's virtues.
- 2013
Sea music
- 560 pages
- 20 hours of reading
A beautifully written novel with great emotional appeal, of family secrets and wartime heritage, sweeping across Cornwall, London and Warsaw. When Lucy Tremain goes to stay with her grandparents in their house in Cornwall overlooking the sea,she finds family papers hidden in the old cottage. The papers hint at wartime secrets. From them emerges her grandmother's story - a hidden story of wartime courage and terrible deprivation. And for three generations of the Tremain family the papers turn their lives upside down: her grandfather Fred, the country doctor who married Martha; Anna, the difficult, determined older child who is Lucy's mother; and Barnaby, her benevolent, indulgent uncle.
- 2008
Finding freedom
- 156 pages
- 6 hours of reading
G.W.F. Hegel is often vilified for his conservative reactionary philosophy, particularly with respect to the rights of women. Alternatively, tracing a path through G.W.F Hegel's political thought, MacDonald demonstrates that, in fact, the logic of Hegel's argument necessitates the recognition of equal political and civil rights for all human beings. Combining a thoughtful study of Hegel's political thought with close readings of two pivotal works of literature, MacDonald's book shows how the perennial tension between fulfilled, yet diverse, personal lives and stable political communities has historically developed. While Sophocles' "Antigone" highlights the tension that exists in states that deny the particular interests of their citizens, MacDonald argues that an alternative image, one that admits the freedom of all humans as the grounds for an ethical family and state and one that is consistent with Hegel's thought in both the "Phenomenology of Spirit" and "The Philosophy of Right", is offered in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". In an era of political cynicism and apathy, "Finding Freedom" seeks to recover the strengths of modern political life, arguing that Hegel's understanding of the true nature of human freedom, one that is based on our willing participation in rationally demonstrable goods, can be grounds for reinvigorating both the family and the political community.
- 2007
Come Away with Me
- 480 pages
- 17 hours of reading
A chance meeting between two old friends leads to an obsessive love which will unearth long-hidden secrets, causing a bitter rift between two families. Jenny and Ruth were best friends at school until Ruth abruptly moved away from their Cornish village and they lost all contact. Fourteen years later, a chance meeting on a train throws both their lives into turmoil. As they begin to fill in the gaps from the years that have passed, their old friendship sparks back into life. One glimpse of Ruth's son Adam sends Jenny into a spiral of love, grief and obsession. Adam is the image of Jenny's husband, Tom, killed suddenly and tragically six months earlier. As Jenny discovers the truth about Adam, a powerful bond springs up between them that will have unforeseen consequences for both families. 'Come Away with Me' is a moving and provoking portrayal of how two women challenge each other's identity in what becomes an unbearable life swap.