The Many Lives of Heloise Starchild

A life-affirming adventure story - three centuries in the making.

Remember me when the comet comes...

On the day the comet came, a girl named Heloise was born. She would live a fine life, and inherit a fortune, but would meet a cruel, untimely death.

Years later, strange dreams plague Katya Nemcova, a teenager burdened with a rare and curious gift. Memories come to Katya in her dreams - images and stories from a past that isn't her own. Are these ghosts real? And what of the memory she seems to have of Heloise's treasures, two centuries old?

A novel that spans the history of Europe - from revolutionary France to the world wars, the Prague Spring, post Brexit Britain, and beyond - this is the irresistible, adventurous and affectionate story of a quite extraordinary woman, her exceptionally talented ancestors, and the curious memories they share

About the Author

John Ironmonger was born and grew up in East Africa. He has a doctorate in zoology, and was once an expert on freshwater leeches. He is the author of The Good Zoo Guide and the novels The Notable Brain of Maximilian Ponder, which was shortlisted for the 2012 Costa First Novel Prize and the Guardian's Not the Booker Prize, and The Coincidence Authority. He was part of a world record team for speed reading Shakespeare and once drove across the Sahara in a 100 banger. He lives in rural Shropshire with his wife Sue and has two grown-up children.

Follow him on Twitter @jwironmonger or visit his website http://notablebrain.blogspot.co.uk.