A Great Act of Love, Heather Rose
A Great Act of Love, Heather Rose
List: $29.99 | Sale: $21.00
Club: $14.99

A Great Act of Love

Author: Heather Rose

Narrator: Anna Popplewell

Unabridged: 13 hr 4 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/27/2026


Synopsis

“Enticing.” —The New York Times

A young woman with a mysterious past searches for her father—who has committed an unspeakable crime—in an exquisitely lush historical novel set among the champagne vines of 19th-century Australia.

Van Diemen’s Land, 1839. A young woman of means arrives in Hobart, Australia, with a boy in her care. Leasing an old cottage next to an abandoned vineyard, Caroline Douglas must navigate an insular colony of exiles and opportunists and invent a new life on this island of extreme seasons and wild beauty. But Caroline is carrying a secret of such magnitude that it has led her to cross the world. It will take all she is made of to bring it into the light.

A Great Act of Love is a spellbinding story that soars from the French Revolution to London and New York on an epic voyage to Tasmania. Here is a story of a family with champagne in their blood, and an enterprising woman determined to rewrite their legacy. The lives of Caroline, her father, and the residents of the island will collide in devastating and profound ways.

Immensely beautiful with unforgettable characters, this heartrending family saga chronicles a father and daughter’s journey back to each other and captures the enduring power of familial love.

About Heather Rose

Heather Rose is an award-winning and bestselling Australian author of nine novels and a memoir. Her books have won numerous prizes including the Stella Prize, the Christina Stead Prize, the Margaret Scott Prize and the ABIA General Fiction Book of the Year. Her novel The Museum of Modern Love set at MoMA in New York has been adapted for stage at Sydney Festival and is currently being adapted for film. Heather’s work has been published internationally and translated into numerous languages. Her latest novel is A Great Act of Love. She lives in Tasmania. Visit her online at HeatherRose.com.au or @Heather_Rose_Writes.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Karren on August 27, 2025

Van Diemen's Land, 1839. Widow Caroline Douglas arrives in Hobart, with her ward a young boy called Quinn. Caroline leases an old cottage from Mr. Swanston and it has an abandoned vineyard, but how did she end up in the colony full of convicts and including one’s who have earned their ticket of leav......more

Goodreads review by Annette on October 29, 2025

This historical novel begins with an event that on the surface is easy to judge, but once the story goes deeper with characters, revealing their past, it brings a deeper theme of taking time to get to know someone without rushing to judge. The story begins in 1836 London where Caroline’s father makes......more

Goodreads review by Jill on January 05, 2026

A GREAT ACT OF LOVE by Heather Rose 4.5 stars rounded down A Great Act of Love is a historical novel inspired by a true story. Set in Van Diemen’s Land in 1839, the novel follows Caroline Douglas, who arrives in Hobart with a young boy in her care, determined to begin again. She settles into an old co......more

Goodreads review by Theresa on September 13, 2025

A Great Act of Love is Heather Rose’s latest release and her first historical fiction. It’s a sweeping family saga spanning generations and continents and is as rich in historical detail as it is in beauty. ‘Do your dreams live on? she wonders. If you lay them down, if you discard them, can they jump......more

Goodreads review by Jacki (Julia Flyte) on October 28, 2025

This was such a compelling piece of historical fiction. I absolutely loved it and I found it very hard to put down. It’s a sweeping story set in the early 19th century. It encompasses the French Revolution, the Industrial revolution, slavery in the US, the experiences of convicts in both Tasmania an......more


Quotes

"With a strong yet silky performance, Popplewell immerses listeners in a vivid time and place."