The Remarkable Miss Digby

Book Author Patricia Donovan
Rights Available World 

In 1853, only a lunatic would consider crossing the Syrian desert to see the Roman ruins at Palmyra. Most travellers from Europe rash enough to venture into the desert are never seen again, and a woman considering such a journey, without her husband, is preposterous. When Jane Digby, the Lady Ellenborough, granddaughter of the Earl of Leicester, informs the British Consul in Damascus that this is what she intends to do, he quickly learns she’s a woman who brooks
no argument.

Jane Digby’s scandalous life has been well chronicled. She spent her last decades in Syria and in this enthralling book, Patricia Donovan, drawing on her own experience in the Syrian desert, imagines Jane’s life in that wild land.

The Remarkable Miss Digby is a hauntingly beautiful story, of a woman determined to escape the confines of her class and gender, and living during a time of religious and cultural upheaval which uncannily mirrors our own.

In Syria, Jane hopes at last to settle, only to discover a world of recklessness and integrity, of cruelty and desire, and where her own passion is stirred more than she ever dared hope for.

Awards: Shortlisted for the NZ Booklovers’ Award 2021 & Finalist Page Turner Awards 2021.

About the Author

Patricia Donovan grew up in Christchurch, New Zealand, and graduated from the University of Canterbury with an MA (Hons) in English Literature. After graduation she worked in corporate communications in Australia and New Zealand and is the author of a best practice guide to the profession. She is currently working on her fourth novel.