Rebecca D’Harlingue delves into the repercussions of family secrets and our attempts to reveal ourselves. Her writing explores the complexities of human connection and the persistent drive for self-discovery. Through her narratives, she shares a profound appreciation for storytelling, engaging both young children and long-time book club members. D’Harlingue invites readers to contemplate their own lives and relationships through the lens of her compelling prose.
A young girl flees seventeenth-century Madrid, in fear for her life. Three centuries later and a continent away, a woman comes across old papers long hidden away, and in them discovers the reason for the flight so long ago, and for her own mother's enigmatic dying words.
In 1660 Amsterdam, Anneke longs to create a new map, but cartography is the domain of men. Still, she persists, and eventually it seems her goal may actually be in sight-until family secrets, infidelity, and even murder threaten her dream.