Alchemy and Rose – A sweeping new novel from the author of The House Between Tides

Our summary description

As Independent Scottish booksellers, we write all of our descriptions personally, we hope you enjoy this one.

In 1866, Will Stewart crosses the world to the goldfields of New Zealand’s South Island, drawn by rumours of buried wealth and the hope of starting again. The land is harsh and unwelcoming, and the promise of fortune feels increasingly distant, but Will presses on, guided by stubborn faith and little else.

Rose’s journey begins at sea. When her ship is wrecked in a violent storm, survival seems impossible until Will pulls her from the water at great personal risk. What follows is a fragile, hard won connection, shaped by chance and necessity. Together they carve out a brief life amid the uncertainty of the gold rush, finding solace in companionship when both have known too much loss.

Alchemy & Rose is a novel about migration, longing, and the accidents that alter a life’s course. Set against a landscape of danger and promise, it traces how love can take root in the most unlikely ground, and how easily it can be undone by silence, pride, and misunderstanding.