Heather Rose is an award-winning and bestselling Australian author. Her novels 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 work has been published internationally and translated into numerous languages. She lives in Tasmania.

"Rose writes in a simple but elegant style, crafting empathetic characters that guarantee reader engagement....An absorbing rumination on family, happiness, and love."--Booklist

"Earnestly researched...absorbing...[a] deep dive into Tasmanian history." --Kirkus Reviews

"Sumptuous....This is a treat for historical fiction fans." --Publishers Weekly

"Like a fine vintage of champagne, this novel is complex, layered, and delicious. The intoxicating mix of family drama, historical details, and strong female characters makes this the perfect pairing for book clubs." --Kate MacIntosh, author of The Champagne Letters

"Rippling with rich, textural prose, A Great Act of Love thrums with secrets which reverberate through generations and across continents. It is a sensuous, captivating story of love and adventure, of new horizons, sweeping from the deepest corners of the world to the wildest territories of the heart." --Lucy Steeds, bestselling author of the Women's Prize longlisted The Artist

"Cracks along with a masterly gusto." --The Age

"This novel is exquisite." --Goodreading

"Don't be fooled. Heather Rose is not a writer; she is a magician. Her magic power? Being able to transport readers back in time to faraway lands." --Australian Women's Weekly

"While A Great Act of Love is, in one sense, an intimate story about a daughter searching for her father, it also expands outward - to the French Revolution, global commerce routes, the slave trade, and the violence of the British Empire." --Sydney Morning Herald

Publisher: S&s/Summit Books

Pub date: 2026-01-27

Length: 384 pages