TWO DAUGHTERS

Two women from different worlds become entwined in ways that make them question everything they thought they knew about themselves.

Raised in rural poverty in Australia, all Ava wants is security. A PhD at Cambridge and her marriage to a handsome, wealthy politician catapult her to the heart of the British establishment. Desperate to be the ideal wife and prove herself worthy, she commits academic fraud. To appease her husband, whose career will be tarnished by her drastic mistake, Ava finally resolves to give him the baby he wants in spite of her fears: her mother abandoned her. Meanwhile, street-smart Cambridge journalist Laurie is determined to have a baby alone, despite her mother's having died in childbirth. While investigating Ava's academic fraud, she inadvertently learns that her father a quirky professor of Marxist thought is not who he seems. Will she push away the man who raised her singlehandedly when her pregnancy turns life-threatening? Told from alternating viewpoints TWO DAUGHTERS is a universal story of found family, class and social justice: funny, occasionally dark, but ultimately hopeful. After studying journalism and German, Alison obtained her PhD in English linguistics at the University of Cambridge. Her debut draws on that academic experience, especially the pressures on young scholars to succeed at all costs. Alison grew up in Australia and spent all her adult life in the UK & Europe. She lives with her family in Amsterdam, where she works as a translator and editor. She is hard at work on her second novel about a female Banksy-style street artist, set between NY and Amsterdam. Bookstagram: @alison_edwards_lange