The Consequence of Anna

The Instant #1 BESTSELLER, reminiscent of The Thorn Birds, The Light Between Oceans, and Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Poignant, heartbreaking, and unforgettable. Inspired by a TRUE STORY . . .

Nominated for a PULITZER PRIZE . . . Soon to be a MAJOR MOTION PICTURE.

“An intense and emotional read!” – Rhys Bowen, New York Times bestselling author of In Farleigh Field and The Tuscan Child

Set against the sprawling backdrop of 1930s Australia, Anna May Shahan is a wild child raised on a lush farm by the sea, always barefoot and playing in her neighbor’s secret garden. Her Aboriginal nanny teaches her the ways of the land, and she grows up to be a quirky, eccentric, and sweet woman. But she is not without her demons, as she struggles with bizarre behaviors and a haunting, dark side.

Soon after marriage, Anna inherits Sugar Alexandria, her family’s sheep station, and she and her Irish husband James lead a simple, hardworking life. That is until Anna’s beautiful widowed cousin Lottie returns from London after being absent for over a decade. Lottie confesses to Anna her heart’s greatest desire to have a child, and Anna, in fear of losing her beloved cousin again, seeks to grant her wish by means of her own husband. What happens next brings devastating consequences for them all.

A literary achievement and the most emotionally gripping book of the year, The Consequence of Anna is a complex historical family saga, intertwined with the haunting mystery of Anna’s mental illness and the secrets, lies, and revelations revealed through the hidden passions of Lottie and James. Layered with lush romance, obsessive love, the strong bond of female friendship, and the frightening effects of altruistic intentions gone wrong, this provocative and powerful allegory cuts through rules and boundaries and proves the old adage that no good deed goes unpunished!

Genre: Historical Fiction

My Thoughts

This is a story about taking chances; it is also about the outcomes of those choices. In addition to that, it is a story about the destruction of mental illness. The story grabbed ahold of me and made it impossible to look away. The interrelationship between the three characters Anna, Rose, and James made me feel anxious and conflicted through much of the book. All of the characters walk away with scars and I remained conflicted to the very end. Why did James wait so long? Was Rose justified or is she a villain? Did Anna love too much or did she love at all? Can morality be bent?

I appreciate the light that these authors shed on Asperger's Syndrome, Schizophrenia, and Dissociative Identity Disorder.

This read was intense and emotional.

The writing is outstanding. There are times when I feel like the characters are speaking directly to me. My one minor complaint has to do with the vocabulary. At times, I felt like the authors dropped in words that some might call pretentious. For me, as a retired English teacher, it felt more like it does when a student searches the thesaurus for a better word. This did not really bother me, but it might pull some readers out of the text, distracting them from the story. That would be a shame because this is an amazing book. I give this one 4.5 stars.