The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart

‘I loved this brave and beautiful book. Alice Hart has the strength and magic of an Australian wildflower in bloom.’

Favel Parrett

‘Not everyone who visits the central Australian desert understands the landscape of it. Holly Ringland does and shares her heart instincts in this epic telling. Each page arrives to us like the first flight of the butterfly from its cocoon … a literary gift.’

Ali Cobby Eckermann

‘An astonishingly assured debut, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is a story of love, loss, betrayal and the redemptive power of storytelling, set in the blazing heat and ancient mythic landscape of Australia’s Red Centre. Written with intelligence, grace and sensitivity, Holly Ringland’s novel is both heart-breaking and life-affirming, following the journey of her heroine Alice as she discovers the strength of spirit to break the patterns of violence of her past.’

Kate Forsyth

‘The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is a book that glows — in the fire and heart of it; in the wonder and hope of it. Holly Ringland is a gifted, natural story-teller and her novel — about finding magic in the dark; about the power of freedom and the freedom of story — is truly a light-giving, tender thing. A vivid, compelling, utterly moving debut.’

Brooke Davis

‘A complex, literary debut that examines the dangerously fine line between care and control, sanctuary and prison. Holly’s writing is rich, vibrant and alive with the messy, sometimes violent song of human connection. She is a writer to watch out for.’

Jenn Ashworth

‘The best fairy tales traverse the darkest corners of the human heart, and this beautiful novel is no exception. Questing and magic, struggle and triumph.’

Myfanwy Jones