The No. 1 New York Times bestseller and award-winning novel, from the celebrated author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings. A beautiful and haunting exploration of human relationships, personal fulfilment and spirituality.

'Highly charged... full of sexual and spiritual desire. Every bit as moving and convincing as The Secret Life of Bees' Mirror

'Beautiful writing...Kidd's characters cherish storytelling' USA Today

'It's hard to put this book down for little things like sleeping and eating' Elle

In her forties, and married for half her life, Jessie Sullivan honestly believes that she is happy. She has a lovely home, a dependable husband and an accomplished and adored teenage daughter. But when shocking news about her mother compels Jessie to visit the island where she grew up, she finds herself drawn to Brother Thomas, a Benedictine monk on the verge of taking his final vows.

Amidst the seductive beauty of the South Carolina salt marshes, Jessie is torn between powerful new longings and her enduring marriage. After all these years she is finally beginning to understand who she really is and where she belongs. But she has still to discover how much of her old life has a place in the new one.

What readers are saying about The Mermaid Chair:

'I was drawn in from the first sentence and felt emotionally attached to each and every one of the characters. Couldn't put it down; loved it' Goodreads reviewer, 5 stars

'The telling of the tale was thoughtful and very beautiful and I felt that I'd shared Jessie's journey' Amazon reviewer, 5 stars

'This is a wonderful novel, spellbinding with characters that you can wholly visualise and want to know. The writing is very strong and not for a long time have I remembered the style, flavour and feeling of a novelist's writing long after I've finished it' Amazon reviewer, 5 stars

'This book spoke right to my heart, right to th