"Sophisticated and thought-provoking
... an urban fairy tale for grown-ups." --Avid Ashley
**GOLD MEDAL Winner
Global Ebook Awards, USA
**SILVER MEDAL Winner
Readers' Favorite International Book Award Contest, USA
**GOLD AWARD Winner
Literary Titan Book Awards, USA
**RED RIBBON Winner
The Wishing Shelf Awards, UK
**BEST BOOK WE'VE READ ALL YEAR Finalist
Read Freely, UK
History, mystery, contemporary romance and magic ... A whimsical tale about money and its unknown otherworldly origins.
It is midnight, and you are sleeping. I am here at the table with a candle at my elbow, penning the most difficult letter I have ever had to write.
They are coming for me. Samuel Withers saw them in the village...
ENGLAND 1767
Edward Lillibridge is writing a farewell letter to his son. The controversial reverend faces trial for heresy after revealing, in a book, the true beginnings of money.
FAST FORWARD TO 2008
...six months before the Global Financial Crisis rocks the economy. Lillibridge's Our True Ancient History-published under the guise of fiction-is out of print, available only at antiquarian bookshops and largely overlooked. Until now.
Rosetta Melki, an idealist whose dream of starting a worldwide charity has been all but crushed by her sole-parent struggles, is enchanted by Our True Ancient History. Lillibridge's tale about a gold-obsessed empire (and the sprites they oppress: elfin clan dwellers whose currency of choice is kindness) has evoked a memory Rosetta cannot explain.
Rosetta's website surrounding the reading group she's begun with friends has inspired the emergence of other Lillibridge book clubs. Her own Sydney group meets fortnightly at a cosy lamplit cottage, the rental home she secured to escape a gruesome intruder.
In a more affluent part of Sydney, finance executive Matthew Weissler (polished, successful, admired) has been questioning his slave-to-the-dollar existence and his marriage to a tantrum-throwing shopaholic. And now he's questioning his sanity after finding he's been followed by an elf.
Rosetta's intruder still lurks in the shadows, but what is the stranger's game? Prowler from the suburb Rosetta and her teenaged daughter fled? Or traveller from the past, sent to suppress an ancient memory...
****Includes detailed Character List
... Like a delicate piece of lace ... masterfully looped and twisted into intricate patterns ...
Marta Tandori - Mystery/Suspense author - Canada
... The characterisation is very convincing; the scenes atmospheric; and unexpected twists kept me guessing outcomes. A romance element adds another dimension to this absorbing novel. The book has a depth that appealed to me on so many levels. What surprised me as much as anything was to discover that this was the author's debut novel ...
Cancerian 9 - Australia
A deep, gripping and wildly creative plot.
Veritas Vincit - USA
Brilliantly enchanting ... I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Payal Sinha - India
The first thing that struck me about Terry's debut novel was her seemingly effortless ability to entwine the contemporary and historical aspects of the story. At times the writing is nothing short of spellbinding.
Rosey - UK
