The Salt Letters

Now that Mr Callaghan's rampaging is over, we are permitted on deck once more. Today the ocean barely ripples, and in her depths I see brilliant fires. There is a burning trail and if I could walk on water, I wonder where I would go. This morning as I squinted, trying to see the end of the trail, I began to whisper a chant for the north-east trade winds. There is a rancid smell floating up from the sea. I am grieved to report that Horus is dead.'Tossed by the ocean, drifting between vision and dream, Sarah's imagination spills over with scenes of the Albatross Man and the graceful canter of a horse underwater. With the certainty of land behind her, Sarah journeys to Australia, fleeing England and her past. In steerage she joins the unmarried women and the horrors of their close confinement bring an unravelling of secrets no-one can control. Sarah longs for her mother's forgiveness and the sweetness of Richard's breath. As she draws closer to her new land, she becomes increasingly haunted by her own tale and the letter she cannot write.Set in the 1850s, The Salt Lettersis the vivid tale of Sarah's journey to Australia.CHRISTINE BALINT is the author of 'The Salt Letters' with ISBN 9781865081489 and ISBN 1865081485.