Devotion

Prussia, 1836

Hanne Nussbaum is a child of nature - she would rather run wild in the forest than conform to the limitations of womanhood. In her village of Kay, Hanne is friendless and considered an oddity...until she meets Thea.

Ocean, 1838

The Nussbaums are Old Lutherans, bound by God's law and at odds with their King's order for reform. Forced to flee religious persecution the families of Kay board a crowded, disease-riddled ship bound for the new colony of South Australia. In the face of brutal hardship, the beauty of whale song enters Hanne's heart, along with the miracle of her love for Thea. Theirs is a bond that nothing can break.

The whale passed. The music faded.

South Australia, 1838

A new start in an old land. God, society and nature itself decree Hanne and Thea cannot be together. But within the impossible...is devotion.

This long-awaited novel demonstrates Hannah Kent's sublime ability with language that creates an immersive, transformative experience for the reader. Devotion is a book to savour.

“Piercingly beautiful . . . [Hanne and Thea's] story is an elegy, freighted with loss and longing.” Guardian

“I absolutely love this book. Hannah Kent writes some of the most transcendently beautiful prose I’ve ever read.” Magda Szubanksi, author of Reckoning

“Such a glorious love story. And the poetry of the landscape had, for me, a Whitmanesque sensibility. A mighty impassioned cry to love and the land.’” Sarah Winman, author of Still Life.

“Hannah Kent’s latest novel is stunning - full of magic and adventure. I fell in love with language again reading it. So beautiful and so raw. Devotion is impossibly good.” Evie Wyld, author of The Bass Rock

“With an extraordinarily daring twist halfway through its narrative, Devotion is a remarkable novel, an almost visionary celebration of the death-defying power of the women’s love.” Sunday Times