Sophie Green, Top Ten bestselling author of The Bellbird River Country Choir and Weekends with the Sunshine Gardening Society, returns with a warm-hearted new novel about friendships, fresh starts and finding yourself. Mornington Peninsula, 1999. Wife and now grandmother Joan has checked into the grand old Duchess Hotel to find herself again after thirty-five years of being who her husband and family have wanted her to be. Peninsula local and soon-to-be octogenarian Frances is distracting herself from getting old, and avoiding her self-interested son by escaping to the warmth of the Duchess where the hotel staff treat her like the person she still is. Meanwhile Frances's daughter, Alison, is trying to manage significant disruptions at home while hoping to finally prove to her mother that she's just as worthy of love as her brother. New to the Duchess, hotel maid Kirrily is feeling the weight of a lifetime of responsibility, struggling to balance bills and work and family, and keeping thoughts of how there must be more to life at bay. With its old-world glamour, sprawling seaside grounds and air of possibility, the Duchess Hotel might just be the place to help the women rediscover who they are and bring some spark back to their lives. When Joan decides to pick up a brush and start painting for the first time in decades, she inspires Frances and Kirrily - and, eventually, Alison - to join her. Over canvas, conversation and creativity they will learn that you should always hold onto your dreams and that new friends can give you the courage to live life on your own terms. Praise for WEEKENDS WITH THE SUNSHINE GARDENING SOCIETY 'Warm and uplifting' WOMAN'S DAY 'Delightful' BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS 'An enjoyable and heartwarming read' ABC GARDENING AUSTRALIA MAGAZINE 'A compassionately written story full of joy and hope' YOUR TIME MAGAZINE 'A ray of sunshine . . . and such a great armchair escape' THE VILLAGE OBSERVER Praise for the novels of Sophie Green 'Atmospheric and incredibly descriptive, reading a Sophie Green book is the greatest escape' WHO MAGAZINE 'Heartwarming, fulfilling and Australian as a lamb roast and full-bodied shiraz' THE AUSTRALIAN WOMEN'S WEEKLY 'A warm treat of a novel, filled with great music and small-town charm' WEEKEND AUSTRALIAN 'Reading this book was like snuggling beneath a warm beach towel after a bracing dip in the ocean' JOANNA NELL