THE SIRENS

Emilia Hart

St. Martin's Press

4/1/25

Fiction

Hardcover, 352 pages

"A compelling tale of sisterhood, sacrifice, and the sea... The Sirens will sweep you away."

-Sarah Penner

A spellbinding novel about sisters separated by centuries, but bound together by the sea from the author of Weyward.

2019: Lucy awakens from a dream to find her hands around her ex-lover’s throat. Horrified, she flees to her older sister’s house on the Australian coast, hoping she can help explain the strangely vivid nightmare that preceded the attack—but Jess is nowhere to be found.

As Lucy awaits her return, the rumors surrounding Jess’s strange small town start to emerge. Numerous men have gone missing at sea, spread over decades. A tiny baby was found hidden in a cave. And sailors tell of hearing women’s voices on the waves. Desperate for answers, Lucy finds and begins to read her sister’s adolescent diary.

1999: Jess is a lonely sixteen-year-old in a rural town in the middle of the continent. Diagnosed with a rare allergy to water, she has always felt different, until her young, charming art teacher takes an interest in her drawings, seeing a power and maturity in them—and in her—that no one else has.

1800: Twin sisters Mary and Eliza have been torn from their loving father in Ireland and forced onto a convict ship bound for Australia. For their entire lives, they’ve feared the ocean, as their mother tragically drowned when they were just girls. Yet as the boat bears them further from all they know, they begin to notice changes in their bodies that they can’t explain, and they feel the sea beginning to call to them…

A tale of female resilience and the bonds of sisterhood across time and space, The Sirens captures the power of dreams and the mystery and magic of the sea.

Dear Reader,

When I began writing my second novel, The Sirens, I knew I wanted to write about sisters and the transformative power of the ocean. I learned that one of my ancestors had captained a convict ship transporting prisoners from Ireland to Australia. The fact that they were Irish resonated: several of my female forebears emigrated from Ireland to Australia in the nineteenth century. As far as I know, none were convicts, and yet I was haunted by the thought that women like them had endured that voyage. I tried to imagine it. All those months imprisoned at sea ripped from everything you’ve ever known. How would it change you? 

I knew, then, that I’d found my story—and my sisters: Mary and Eliza, Jess and Lucy.

I hope you enjoy meeting them.

Emilia Hart

Mary and Eliza’s Potato Farls: Start your menu with farls, a traditional Irish potato cake made with mashed potato and flour and cooked in a skillet or griddle pan. They are delicious with lots of butter —my Irish best friend swears by Kerrygold— and maybe even some smoked salmon. In the novel, Da teaches Mary and Eliza how to make these. 

Clifftop Irish Stew with Soda Bread: This classic stew, made with lamb or beef and root vegetables, needs no introduction. My dad used to make this when I was a child – it’s as popular in modern-day Australia as it must have been in Ireland two hundred years ago. It’s best eaten on a stormy night —bonus points for a clifftop house—and would be delicious with soda bread, an Irish bread made with baking soda and buttermilk. Again, don’t skimp on the Kerrygold! 

Maggie’s Pavlova: Sources differ as to whether this dessert originated in Australia or New Zealand, but it’s a staple of the Aussie Christmas table and was ever-present during my childhood. Simply top fluffy meringue with whipped cream and plenty of fruit, and you can’t go wrong. Maggie—Lucy, and Jess’s mother—is a keen cook and probably makes her meringue from scratch, but I’m lazy and use store-bought shells. I won’t judge you if you do the same…

Drinks: Australian wine —a Shiraz would go particularly well with Irish stew— or if you’d prefer something non-alcoholic, try Lemon, Lime & Bitters, a classic Aussie mocktail made with lemonade, lime cordial, and a drop of Angostura bitters. 

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