Set in an unnamed NZ city in 1953, Fire tells the story of four working class friends, all employed at Dawsons, one of the country’s most glamorous and sophisticated department stores. An historical romance based on the Ballantynes Department Store Fire in 1947 that killed 41 people, most of them store employees trapped in controversial circumstances.
Set in an unnamed NZ city in 1953, Fire tells the story of four working class friends, all employed at Dawsons, one of the country’s most glamorous and sophisticated department stores. The girls are Nancy, a salesgirl in the dress department, Kay who works in lingerie, Louise, a typist in Accounts and Judy, a milliner in the workroom out the back. The story takes place a week before Christmas, in the period leading up to Christmas as the country prepares for a Royal Visit by the young Queen Elizabeth. When the store is full of wealthy shoppers smoke is discovered drifting from the basement lift shaft. While the fire brigade is called, the store owners make a crucial error and decide not to raise a public alarm until it’s too late – exits are cut off by the fire and the ground and first floors are ablaze, trapping staff and customers on the upper floors. A powerful and dramatic story from one of our best-selling novelists.

A captivating story of family and friendship through one decade of incredible change, from NZ’s no.1 bestselling author.

In 1950s Auckland things are changing – and fast. Women are joining the workforce in numbers, whitegoods are readily available and the age of rock’n’ roll has arrived.

Allie Manaia works the Elizabeth Arden counter at Smith and Caughey’s. It’s been two years since the Dunbar and Jones fire, where some of her friends perished, but she still has nightmares.

Kathleen Lawson — rich, lonely and bored — is one of Allie’s customers. Kathleen takes a shine to Allie, but when Kathleen discovers Allie’s husband is Maori, her attitude changes. Is she trying to make friends or poison the relationship between Sonny and Allie?

Meanwhile, Sonny’s beautiful younger sister, Polly, is embracing the more relaxed moral standards of the era, living a vibrant but wayward life as a waitress-model-goodtime girl while leaving her young daughter to be raised by her mother.

As each woman navigates the shifting social and cultural landscape of the 1950s, she is faced with new possibilities and decisions – with freedom comes joy, but also fear and, occasionally, mistakes.

Told in Deborah Challinor’s trademark style – equal parts heart and humour – From the Ashes follows the fortunes of the women of three families through one decade of incredible change.

Praise for Deborah Challinor:

‘Challinor is a good storyteller … seamlessly joining fact and fiction and creating a convincing, atmospheric yarn’ Bookseller + Publisher

‘The perfect blend of fact and fiction’ New Zealand Herald

Bestselling author Deborah Challinor returns with a spellbinding novel about a woman living in Sydney’s notorious King’s Cross in 1964.

Polly Manaia is living in Sydney’s notorious Kings Cross, working as an exotic dancer. She’s desperate to bring her young daughter to live with her, but beneath her brash confidence lie dark secrets which threaten to drag her under.

Gina is excited to live with her mum again. She’s mature for an eleven-year-old, but can this young girl cope with Polly’s demons?

Rhoda and Star, transgender performers and Polly’s flatmates, bring stability to Polly and Gina’s lives. Yet this unlikely little family will find themselves threatened in more ways than one.

The Jacaranda House is a fascinating portrayal of a shifting society and a beautiful portrait of motherhood and identity.

‘Australia’s answer to Philippa Gregory’ Brisbane Times

‘A meticulously researched and compellingly readable story injected with heart and humour, From the Ashes is perfect for fans of Fiona McIntosh and Kate Furnivall. A five-star read’ Better Reading

Rowie’s pro-war, her sister Jo’s a protester. And they’re both in Vietnam.

The compelling new novel from the bestselling author of From the Ashes

In 1969, at the height of the Vietnam war, nurse Rowie Leonard is serving a 12-month tour of duty. She supports the war and is committed to caring for wounded New Zealand and Australian troops. After a few months, however, she realises that nothing at all about the conflict is as clear-cut as she’d assumed.

Her younger sister, Jo, is the opposite – a student at Auckland University, a folk singer and a fervent anti-war protestor. But when Jo falls for professional soldier Sam Apanui, home on leave to visit his ill father, she finds herself torn between her feelings and her convictions.

As the three of them grapple with love, loss, and the stresses and sorrows of war, each will be forced to confront and question everything they believed.

Praise for Deborah Challinor:

‘Challinor is a good storyteller … seamlessly joining fact and fiction and creating a convincing, atmospheric yarn’ Bookseller and Publisher

‘The perfect blend of fact and fiction’ NZ Herald