The Minstrels

Gem and Will grow up on a farm above the chasm and pool known as the Minstrels, a site where both are broken, each by the other. One will disappear. One will, eventually, be transformed.

Through her encounters with people and through art, land and language, Gem is remade while the world outside changes and time runs out.

This long-awaited new novel from one of our finest writers is a sweeping epic set in literal and figurative blight in a fictional Australian geography; a work of self, time and the very end of something. Wild, mythic and potent, The Minstrels is an apocalyptic redemption fable that weaves the history and probable fate of the world into the life of one woman.

‘Hornung is a beautiful writer’ Michael Robotham, ABC RN
'Utterly gripping...a compelling read.’ Conversation

‘This novel had such a tender beauty in so many moments, that even with the devastation that overshadows the story, the overriding feeling was joy.’ Readings

‘Hornung has seeded the narrative with complicated issues that bloom, in her characteristically fertile prose, into ambivalent flower.' Age

‘An epic...the beauty and playfulness of the prose dazzles, and Gem is an extraordinary creation.’ Guardian
‘Beautiful….a startlingly original portrait of familial love and grief.’ Books+Publishing
‘Important, engaging, and intimate...at times heartbreaking, at times really funny. A joy to read and re-read.’ Good Reading