The Sea Between Us

The Berryman sisters come from a Tasmanian family of twelve children. Emma, Irene and Ada leave for domestic work in Melbourne, while Maud remains at home. Emma makes a poor marriage and has a son; Irene marries a New Zealander and reluctantly moves across the Tasman; Maud is so devoted to her husband that their only child, Harriet, grows up feeling unloved. The story follows these women and then their children into the present, through marriages, friendships and moves between Australia and New Zealand, and is more interested in the drift of people's lives than in dramatic events.

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About the book

Form

Novel

Genres

Family (assigned by AI)

Set in

Australia, New Zealand

First published

2003

Author's age

62 when first published

ISBN

9780143018599 (Penguin Books, New Zealand)