Silver Wattle (55 page)

In terms of research, I am especially grateful to the lovely Jana Rich and her husband, Dennis, who went to enormous lengths to help me confirm that my Czech references were correct and that the dishes in the novel were authentic. It was such a pleasure getting to know Jana and Dennis; it was worth writing the novel just to have met them!

For helping with my wildlife research, I would particularly like to thank Sonya Stanvic, Cilla Norris, David Williams, Gary Taylor, Nick Edards and Paul Ibbetson of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. I should also make special mention of Sue Small and Ela Achtel who so graciously stepped into my role as Brushtail Possum Co-ordinator for the North Shore Branch of WIRES so I could meet my publishing deadline.

I would like to thank Debbie Sander of the Australian Film, Television and Radio School and Les Parrott for their helpful information on film technique in the 1920s.

Others who I would like to acknowledge include: John Scott, Aviation Historian; John McCulloch of the Australian National Aviation Museum; Ewen Simpson and Gerard Willems of the Conservatorium High School; Andrew Constantine of the Sydney Observatory; Gillian Simpson of the Australian National Maritime Museum; Helen Sartinas of the Immigration Museum; Simeon Barlow of the National Archives of Australia; Sally Orr of the Royal Flying Doctor Service in Queensland; Esmay Foster of the Kiama Historical Society; John Merriman, Local Studies Librarian with the Blue Mountains City Library; Kay Donovan; and Fiona and Adam Workman.

Finally, I would like to thank the helpful staff at the following libraries: Ku-ring-gai Library, Wollongong City Library, Leichhardt Library and the State Library of NSW.

Thank you to everyone for making the writing of
Silver Wattle
the trip of a lifetime!

Belinda Alexandra has been published to wide acclaim in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Holland, Poland, Norway and Russia. She is the daughter of a Russian mother and an Australian father and has been an intrepid traveller since her youth. Her love of other cultures is matched by her passion for her home country, Australia, where she is a volunteer rescuer and carer for the New South Wales Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service (WIRES).

From the glamorous nightclubs of 1930s Shanghai to the bitter days of Cold
War Russia, Anya must roam the four corners of the globe to search for what she values most.

Simone Fleurier’s sweeping journey from the rambling fields of
Provence in the 1920s to the music halls of Paris and jazz–age New York shows that love, like
lavender, can bloom in the unlikeliest places.

As Mussolini’s grip tightens around beautiful Italy in the 1930s, the
young orphan Rosa must discover exactly what she is willing to sacrifice for survival.

When talented ballerina Paloma delves into her family’s history she
unravels the secrets of the past and discovers a shocking story of passion, betrayal and flamenco in the Spanish Civil War.

What really happened to Soviet fighter pilot Natalya when her plane went
down in WWII? Secrets and lies, enduring love and terrible sacrifice all combine in this story of a love to defy the decades.

In a district of the city of Harbin, a haven for White Russian families since Russia’s Communist revolution, Alina Kozlova must make a heartbreaking decision if her only child, Anya, is to survive the final days of World War II.

White Gardenia
sweeps across cultures and continents, from the glamorous nightclubs of Shanghai to the harshness of Cold War Soviet Russia in the 1960s, from a desolate island in the Pacific Ocean to a new life in post-war Australia. Both mother and daughter must make sacrifices, but is the price too high? Most importantly of all, will they ever find each other again?

Rich in incident and historical detail, this is a compelling and beautifully written tale about yearning and forgiveness.

At fourteen, Simone Fleurier is wrenched from her home on a Provençal lavender farm and sent to work in Marseilles. Her life there is hard and impoverished, but Simone discovers the music hall and a dream: to one day be a famous dancer and singer. But when war threatens, Simone makes a decision that will lead to great danger—yet ultimately prove that love, just like wild lavender, can grow in the least likely of places…

Belinda Alexandra has created a tale of passion and courage that moves from the backstreets of Marseilles to the grand music theatres of Paris, from the countryside of Provence to decadent pre-war Berlin and jazz-age New York.
Wild Lavender
is a feast for the senses that will live on in the imagination long after the book is closed.

First published in Australia in 2007

This edition published in 2014

by HarperCollins
Publishers
Australia Pty Limited

ABN 36 009 913 517

www.harpercollins.com.au

Copyright © Belinda Alexandra 2007

The right of Belinda Alexandra to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her under the
Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000
.

This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the
Copyright Act 1968,
no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

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10 East 53rd Street, New York NY 10022, USA

Alexandra, Belinda.

Silver wattle / Belinda Alexandra.

ISBN: 978 0 7322 8135 9 (pbk.)

ISBN: 978 0 7304 4383 4 (epub)

Women motion picture producers and directors – Fiction.

Motion picture industry – Australia – Fiction.

Czechs – Australia – Family relationships – Fiction.

A823.4