Silk: A Story of War

France, 1861. When an epidemic threatens to wipe out the silk trade in France, Herve Joncour (a young silkworm breeder) has to travel overland to distant Japan, out of bounds to foreigners, to smuggle out healthy silkworms. In the course of his secret negotiations with the local baron, Joncour’s attention is arrested by the man’s concubine, a girl who does not have oriental eyes. Although they are unable to exchange so much as a word, love blossoms between them, a love that is conveyed in a number of recondite messages. How their secret affair develops is told in this remarkable love story.

Reviews of Silk: A Story of War

"An intensely powerful and perceptive drama of the deepest human desires… One of the most astonishing and moving novels I have ever read." Daily Telegraph "A heart-breaking love story told in the form of a classic fable… A literary gem of bewitching power." Sunday Times "Silk is the perfect pick-up book… A book of startling images and ideas." Observer "Deeply moving – A delicately crafted love story and an anatomy of desire." Guardian"