‘Breathtaking’ new novel from Heather Morris goes to Zaffre

Zaffre, the adult fiction imprint of Bonnier Books UK, has acquired a “breathtaking” new novel by Heather Morris, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Sisters Under the Rising Sun, “an astonishing story of resilience and endurance”, was acquired directly from the author by Margaret Stead, publisher at Zaffre and Manilla Press, in a two-book deal with world language rights.

It will be published on 28th September 2023 in hardback, e-book and audio, supported by a major publicity and marketing campaign. Sisters Under the Rising Sun will be simultaneously published in Australia by Echo Publishing, an imprint of Bonnier Books UK, and in the US by St Martin’s Publishing Group.

Based on true events, Sisters under the Rising Sun is a story of sisterhood, bravery, friendship, and survival, the publisher says: “In the midst of the Second Word War, an English musician, Norah Chambers, places her eight-year-old daughter Sally on a ship leaving Singapore, desperate to keep her safe from the Japanese army as they move down through the Pacific. Norah remains to care for her husband and elderly parents, knowing she may never see her child again.

“Sister Nesta James, a Welsh Australian nurse, has enlisted to tend to Allied troops. But as Singapore falls to the Japanese she joins the terrified cargo of people, including the heartbroken Norah, crammed aboard the ’Vyner Brooke’ merchant ship. Only two days later, they are bombarded from the air off the coast of Indonesia, and in a matter of hours, the ’Vyner Brooke’ lies broken on the seabed.

“After surviving a brutal 24 hours in the sea, Nesta and Norah reach the beaches of a remote island, only to be captured by the Japanese and held in one of their notorious POW camps. The camps are places of starvation and brutality, where disease runs rampant. Sisters in arms, Norah and Nesta fight side by side every day, helping whoever they can, and discovering in themselves and each other extraordinary reserves of courage, resourcefulness and determination."

Morris said: “In my next novel, I re-create a largely overlooked episode of the Second World War. Sisters under the Rising Sun tells the story of a group of women from Australia, England, the Netherlands and beyond, who were captured by the Imperial Japanese Army in 1942 and held in brutal conditions in a camp in the Indonesian jungle. Based mainly on the real-life experiences of Australian nurse Sister Nesta James and English musician Norah Chambers, my novel explores the powerful bonds of sisterhood of over 500 hundred women who struggled and survived together for nearly four years. I’m honoured and proud to be giving a voice to these women and their incredible courage and resilience.”

Stead commented: “With Sisters under the Rising Sun, Heather once again brings to life a chapter of history and in doing so tells a story of hope and bravery. This is very much a tale of women in war – largely overlooked by the history books – grippingly and powerfully evoked. Working with Heather as she painstakingly researches and writes has been a joy, and we are so excited and proud to be publishing her breathtaking novel this autumn.”