Linda Wilgus

‘Pitch perfect’ TRACY REES ‘A stunning debut’ LIZ FENWICK The Cornish cost. A handsome smuggler. A love story for the ages. Isabel has always been a woman of mystery. As a child of four, she appeared on the Cornish shore, soaking wet, unable to speak. The villagers believed she was brought from the sea, the daughter of a spirit. Now, newly widowed, Isabel feels the ocean calling her to come back home. And when Jack Carlyon, an injured smuggler, crosses her path, she is swept up into a love story that will test her courage, her reputation, and her heart. Jack plays a dangerous game, and there are those that would hang him if they knew what he was. Isabel fights to make sense of the magical pull of the ocean and wants to protect Jack – but at what cost? She is a daughter of the sea. He is a man of the land. Can they overcome the odds to be together?

A love story with a touch of magic and folklore set against the wilderness of the Cornish coast. It was a grey and misty morning when she appeared on the Cornish shore. A girl of only four years old, soaking wet, unable to speak. With no one to claim her, rumours started to swirl and the villagers began to believe she was brought from the sea, the daughter of mystical sea creatures. Now, newly widowed, she returns to the village to start a new life and as she settles into life in Cornwall, she feels the sea calling to her to come back home. Then one night, she discovers Jack Carlyon, an injured smuggler, in her home and allows him to stay to recover. They cannot be together – she is a child of the sea and he is a man of the land – but so begins a love story that will push them both to the edge of their hearts…

Seikkailuja, suolan tuoksua ja meren mytologiaa tulviva historiallinen rakkaustarina lumoaa kuin seireenin laulu. Napoleonin sotien nuori leski Isabel Henley palaa kylään Cornwallin karunkauniilla rannikolla – sinne, mistä hänet lapsena löydettiin, kuin merestä nousseena. Kukaan ei tiennyt, mistä hän tuli, mutta taikauskoiset kyläläiset kuiskivat hänen olevan merenväen tytär. Nyt Isabel etsii kylästä meren tuomaa lohtua ja uutta alkua. Kun eräänä yönä hänen vuokramökkinsä suojiin kannetaan salakuljettajien haavoittunut kapteeni Jack Carlyon, saa alkunsa huumaava rakkaustarina, joka uhmaa kaikkia vaaroja, lakeja ja sovinnaisuuksia. Isabel kuulee meren kutsun, voimakkaampana kuin koskaan. Mutta miten käy hänen haaveilleen merillä purjehtimisesta maailmassa, jossa naisen paikka on kotona? Voiko saada sekä rakkauden että vapauden? ”Intohimo ja seikkailu kietoutuvat toisiinsa tässä huikeassa, mukaansatempaavassa esikoisromaanissa. Meren vapaus ja Cornwallin rannikon villi, arvoituksellinen kauneus muodostavat vangitsevat puitteet – yhtä romanttiset kuin itse tarina. Tätä ei voi laskea käsistään!” – Fiona Valpy

Cornwall, tidigt 1800-tal. En dimmig morgon spolas en fyraårig flicka upp på stranden, ensam och stum. Ingen vet varifrån hon kommer. Nitton år senare tvingas den unga Isabel, vars man just stupat i kriget mot Frankrike, att utblottad återvända till den avlägsna fiskebyn där hon en gång hittades. I jakten på svar om sitt mystiska förflutna möts Isabel av viskningar – byborna tror att hon är dotter till ett havsväsen. När den skadade smugglarkaptenen Jack en natt dyker upp vid hennes dörr dras hon in i en förbjuden kärleksaffär – och i en olaglig smugglarverksamhet. Samtidigt känner sig Isabel hela tiden lockad av havet. Var kommer hon egentligen ifrån? Och vad är hon beredd att offra för kärleken? Linda Wilgus debut är en dramatisk och fängslande kärlekshistoria som suger tag från första sidan. Det är den första boken i en serie historiska romaner som alla inspireras av folklore och myter från Cornwalls klippiga kust.

In this enchanting, adventurous debut novel, a band of seafaring smugglers land on the Cornish coast, where a young widow with a mysterious past becomes entangled in their schemes--and with their charismatic captain. England, early 1800s: Destitute and forced to leave her home in London, Isabel, a young widow of the Napoleonic Wars, returns to the village on the rugged Cornish coast where she was found as a small child, dripping wet and alone. Hoping to learn more about her enigmatic origins, she's shocked to find herself at the center of a local legend claiming she's the daughter of a sea spirit. As Isabel adjusts to life in her rented cottage, the coast is rife with smugglers and the Revenue Officers who hunt them. One evening, a group of dangerous raiders arrive at her door, carrying their wounded captain, Jack. Remembering her late husband's fatal injuries, Isabel decides to care for Jack and soon senses a powerful connection between them. Even after Jack recovers, Isabel finds herself unable to forget him. Meanwhile, the sea calls to her, and a Revenue Officer who likes to hang smugglers poses a threat in more ways than one. Before long, she finds herself caught on the wrong side of the law, with violence and heartbreak looming. From the coves of Cornwall to the wild coast of Brittany, during perilous raids at sea and society dinner parties, Isabel fights to understand her kinship with the ocean while seeking answers about her past. But when the threat catches up with them and Jack's life hangs in the balance, she must draw on all her courage and delve deep into mythical heart of the Cornish coast. For only a Sea Child can turn the tide...

En grå og tåkefull morgen dukket det opp en dyvåt liten jente i en kystby i Cornwall. Ingen visste hvor hun kom fra, og ryktene svirret, inspirert av stedets legender? Er hun datter av en havånd? Nå er jenta blitt voksen, enke etter en av Lord Nelsons soldater. Hun skal starte et nytt liv, og kjenner dragningen fra havet, og lengselen mot stedet hun vokste opp. Så en natt blir kaptein Jack brakt til huset hennes. Han er skutt og skjuler seg fra de britiske soldatene. Hun pleier ham, og samtidig vokser dem fram sterke følelser mellom dem. Hans aktiviteter til sjøs gjør ham til et attraktivt bytte for de britiske soldatene, og et forhold mellom dem er umulig. Men Isabel er en uvanlig kvinne, og hennes sterke lengsel til havet bringer dem begge til uante opplevelser.