THE LAST PEARLFISHER OF SCOTLAND

Julia Stuart's THE LAST PEARLFISHER OF SCOTLAND is "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" by way of Maupassant. Others have compared it to Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and have called the author’s writing a great mix of Joanne Harris meets Paul Torday.

Brodie McBride is the last of his kind; Pearl-fishing in the rivers of Nether Isla has long since become an occupation of diminishing returns. His beautiful wife, Elspeth, is at the end of her tether, having shelved her own dreams and lived an impecunious life to accommodate her husband’s obsession. Something has to give. Brodie, however, is consumed with his desire to find one last pearl of specific size and luster for a necklace he has been secretly making for Elspeth over the past nineteen years, a McBride family tradition. Their 10 year old daughter, Maggie, sees their marriage unravelling with the arrival of Cameron Wallace, Elspeth’s old boyfriend. Maggie discovers Brodie’s mission and in a bid to help her father find that infernal one last piece, she intervenes with seemingly irretrievable consequences.

A veritable Pearl Rush ensues. Nether Isla’s fortunes are gloriously reversed as the town is overrun with amateur Pearl-fishers and journalists looking for the real story. The townspeople are thrilled with the uptick in business and are conflicted about revealing a secret that might turn all that good fortune away. Once Brodie finds out what Maggie has done, he finds himself in an unbearable position. When even his new job in the jam factory goes awry—the indignity of sorting fruit-- and Maggie and Elspeth move out, he knows he must dig deep and face a tragedy in his past to save his marriage, his daughter and his livelihood…

This is Julia’s fourth novel, and she’s been published in nine languages. Her earlier book THE TOWER, THE ZOO AND THE TORTOISE hit the New York Times bestseller list and was an indie pick. Julia is a former features editor for the Independent in London, and more recently graduated from University of East Angola.