{"product_id":"9781743347652","title":"The Beloved","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eShortlisted for the Miles Franklin Literary Award\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"It came one morning with the milk, and it seemed - at first - almost as innocent...\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen Roberta \"Bertie\" Lightfoot is struck down with polio, her world collapses. But Mama doesn't tolerate self-pity, and Bertie is nobody if not her mother's daughter - until she sets her heart on becoming an artist. Through drawing, the gifted and perceptive Bertie gives form and voice to the reality of the people and the world around her. While her father is happy enough to indulge Bertie's driving passion, her mother will not let art get in the way of the future she wishes for her only daughter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1955 the family moves to post-colonial Port Moresby, a sometimes violent frontier town, where Bertie, determined to be the master of her own life canvas, rebels against her mother's strict control. In this tropical landscape, Bertie thrives amid the lush pallette of colours and abundance, secretly learning the techniques of drawing and painting under the tutelage of her mother's arch rival. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut Roberta is not the only one deceiving her family. As secrets come to light, the domestic varnish starts to crack, and jealousy and passion threaten to forever mar the relationship between mother and daughter.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTender and witty, \u003cb\u003eThe Beloved\u003c\/b\u003e is a moving debut novel which paints a vivid portrait of both the beauty and the burden of unconditional love.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the Queensland Premier's Literary Award for Best Emerging Queensland Author 2011\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWinner of the Nita B Kibble Literary Awards for Women Writers Kibble Literary Award 2013\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eCommended for FAW National Literary Awards' Christina Stead Award 2012\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Pan Macmillan Australia","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47180258476272,"sku":"9781743347652","price":15.45,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781743347652_p0.jpg?v=1763704788","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781743347652","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}