Four women spark a revolution on a Caribbean island - the electrifying new novel from the Costa-winning author of The Mermaid of Black Conch
Early one morning, at the close of St Colibri's carnival, a young female steel-pan player is found dead beneath a cannonball tree. It is a discovery that will transform the lives of everyone on this small island.
As the days pass, this shocking event draws together four women. There's Sharleen, a journalist with an eye for the real story. Her childhood friend Tara, the pink-haired, straight-talking star of the local activism scene. Gigi, the 'notorious' founder of the Port Isabella Sex Workers Collective. And Daisy, first lady of St Colibri, who is haunted by a disappearance in her own family decades ago.
In a community in which women's voices are often silenced and violence against them is often overlooked, the group soon find themselves compelled to speak out - and to act. But even they could never have foreseen the consequences of their courage...
Passiontide is a fiercely alive novel about women daring to imagine a different world. It confirms Monique Roffey as one of our most spellbinding storytellers.
About the Author
Monique Roffey was born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, and lives in London. She is the author of seven novels and a memoir. The Mermaid of Black Conch won the Costa Book of the Year and the Costa Novel Award and was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize and the Goldsmiths Prize. Her other highly acclaimed books include Archipelago, which won the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature, The White Woman on the Green Bicycle and House of Ashes. In addition to her work as an environmental activist, she is a professor of contemporary fiction at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Industry Reviews
Passiontide is a bold rallying cry of a novel. Vital, enraging and brilliant. I loved it -- Sarah Winman, author of Still Life
Beautiful and important... Passiontide is a resounding testament to the rebellious spirit and bravery of Caribbean women. This is an urgent and deeply necessary novel about women reclaiming their own power and future in the face of gender-based violence. Monique Roffey has written a firebrand womanist text, a battle cry, a rousing vision of change for a better, possible world. By the end of this book, I was ready to join the revolution -- Safiya Sinclair, author of How to Say Babylon
A vital novel...fiery, funny and ferociously feminist
Passiontide has scale, politics and power - a thrilling read, I loved it -- Sadie Jones, author of The Outcast
Set on the fictional Caribbean island of St Colibri, Monique Roffey's Passiontide is an extraordinary exploration of the magical possibilities of collective action, and pulsates with the rebel spirit of women. Activists, sex-workers and obeah women occupy the pages of this brilliantly told narrative of struggle and uprising - which is also a subtle and shape-shifting call to arms -- Hannah Lowe, Costa Book of the Year-winning author of The Kids
