Hush, Little Baby

“Katharine Davies casts such a spell with this mesmerizing novel of love and loss that I wished it would never end, so beautiful is her prose, so true are her revelations of the human heart.”—Elizabeth Nunez, author of Prospero's Daughter Thirty-six years old, unmarried, and hopelessly in love with her married boss, Eira Morgan is desperate for a child but feels that her springtime has already passed. Then one day she discovers an abandoned baby. Taking the baby home, she fantasizes about being its mother. But the infant serves only to remind her of her empty existence. And yet the baby's presence also unlocks the door to Eira's most poignant, painful memories, particularly of one life-changing summer. Alienated from her mysterious, moody older half-sister, the ten-year-old Eira seeks out the friendship of an eccentric librarian, whose tales of a nineteenth-century servant girl draw unnerving parallels to Eira's own life. Praise for Hush, Little Baby “Davies's whimsical tale . . . is grounded by gritty realism. . . . When complex, earthy reality enters the romance, [the novel] takes on a powerful authenticity.”—The Guardian (London) “A beautifully written story that will grow on you with the turn of each page.”—Sarah Willis, author of The Sound of Us “Davies has written a novel full of surprises, and she pulls the reader forward with breakneck speed. Reading this book is like listening to strange and unforgettable music.”—Elizabeth Cox, author of The Slow Moon