Before Dorothy

The greatest journey is the one you least expect... Long before Dorothy visits Oz, her aunt, Emily Gale, sets off on her own unforgettable adventure much closer to home... When news reaches Kansas that her beloved sister has tragically died, Emily Gale must become a mother overnight. Her sister''s orphaned child, Dorothy, desperately needs a home. But Emily doubts her ability to fill her sister''s shoes; her life on the barren Kansas prairies is no place for a child. On the unforgiving plains, Emily''s courage is endlessly tested. The prolonged drought and relentless dust storms threaten to destroy everything - including her home and her marriage. Can Emily overcome her grief and let Dorothy heal her heart? From the promise of Chicago in the 1920s to the harsh beauty of the Kansas prairie during the dust bowl of the 1930s, this is a story of family, duty and one woman''s journey of self-discovery.

About the author

Hazel Gaynor is an award-winning, New York Times, USA Today, and Irish Times, bestselling author of historical fiction, including her debut THE GIRL WHO CAME HOME, for which she received the 2015 RNA Historical Novel of the Year award. THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER'S DAUGHTER was shortlisted for the 2019 HWA Gold Crown award. She is published in thirteen languages and nineteen countries. Originally from Yorkshire, Hazel lives in Ireland with her family.

Product details

• Authors: Hazel Gaynor, Gaynor Hazel
• Publisher: Harper Collins Uk
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Release: 10.11.2025
• EAN: 9780008518752
• ISBN: 978-0-00-851875-2
• Dimensions: 129 mm x 198 mm x 25 mm
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; USA, Chicago, Kansas, FICTION / Women, Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945), FICTION / Family Life / General, Historical fiction, Illinois, HISTORY / North America, HISTORY / Europe / Ireland, Family life fiction, Narrative theme: Social issues, Ireland, Narrative theme: displacement, exile, migration, Narrative theme: Identity / belonging, c 1918 to c 1939 (Inter-war period), 1929 to c 1939 (period of the Great Depression), Modern and contemporary fiction: general and literary, FICTION / Historical / 20th Century / General