Tamworth born and bred best selling author Kirsty Manning’s second book, The Jade Lily, has already received global acclaim, on Tuesday she was back home to launch the book at the City Library.
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The former Calrossy student’s second effort comes just 12 months after her hit debut, The Midsummer Garden, and while that number was set in Medieval France and Tasmania, this book is set in vibrant Shanghai.
“I was on holidays in Shanghai with the kids and we went to the Chinese Gardens and spent some time in Fuzhou, the French quarter, but then we ran out of money and went to the cheaper side of Hongkou,” she said.
“I saw an old red star of David on a doorway, and after asking a few questions realised I had a complete blind spot in my 20th century history.”
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During WWII 20,000 European Jews fled to Shanghai, because it was one of only a few cities in the world that could be entered without a visa.
Mrs Manning’s novel tells the tale of a young Viennese girl Romy who lands in Shanghai in 1939, and her modern day Australian granddaughter, unravelling this incredible story of family heritage and global history.
Much of the story is told through the eyes of Romy’s childhood friend Li, while typical of a Manning novel the story is intertwined and highlighted with the culinary tastes and sensations of the host city.
“There is some big themes and historical fiction in this book – it took months and months of research, which I loved because I was captivated by Shanghai and this particular piece of history,” she said.
The novel, which has already hit the best-seller list and been printed in Hebrew, is set to launch in the America, Netherlands, Germany and Britain in the coming weeks.
Mrs Manning already has two more novels in the pipeline, the next release a mystery set in London.
