The Clockmaker’s Daughter

More Information & Critical Reviews

Kate Morton was born in South Australia and, as a child, moved with her family many times before they settled, finally, on Tamborine Mountain in south-east Queensland. After an ill-fated attempt to do something sensible and obtain an Arts/Law degree, she went on to complete a summer Shakespeare course at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and for some time believed her future lay in theatre. Until one day she realised that it wasn’t performing she was in love with. It was words and stories. Kate began writing in earnest and completed two full-length manuscripts (which lie deep and determinedly within a bottom drawer) before settling finally into the story that would become The House at Riverton (The Shifting Fog). Meanwhile, Kate graduated from the University of Queensland with First Class Honours in English Literature and took up a scholarship to complete a Masters degree focusing on tragedy in Victorian literature. The House at Riverton was a Sunday Times #1 bestseller in the UK in 2007 and a New York Times bestseller in 2008. The Shifting Fog won General Fiction Book of the Year at the 2007 Australian Book Industry Awards (ABIA), and The House at Riverton was nominated for Most Popular Book at the British Book Awards in 2008. Her second book, The Forgotten Garden, was a #1 bestseller in Australia and Spain, and a Sunday Times #1 bestseller in the UK in 2008. It won General Fiction Book of the Year at the 2009 Australian Book Industry Awards and was a New York Times bestseller in 2009. The Distant Hours was an international bestseller in 2010 and won General Fiction Book of the Year at the 2011 ABIAs. The Secret Keeper was a New York Times bestseller and has won a number of other awards and accolades including the 2013 ABIA for General Fiction Book of the Year and The Courier-Mail’s People’s Choice Queensland Book of the Year. The Lake House, published in 2015, was a New York Times bestseller and a #1 bestseller in Canada and Australia. It will be published around the world in 2016.

Kate’s books are published in 39 countries and in 32 languages. She currently lives in London with her family and continues to write the sorts of books she can disappear inside.

‘A truly hypnotic tale that is bound to please both fans and newcomers, The Clockmaker’s Daughter is another wonderful read from one of Australia’s most beloved authors.’ Booktopia

‘Morton explores the tangled history of people and place in her outstanding, bittersweet sixth novel.’ US Publisher’s Weekly

‘The Clockmaker’s Daughter is an ambitious, complex, compelling historical mystery with a fabulous cast of characters. This is Kate Morton at her very best.’ Kristin Hannah, bestselling author of The Nightingale