The Song of Stork and Dromedary

Inspired by the life and work of Emily Brontë, this masterful, multi-award-winning book — acclaimed as the best Dutch novel published this century — pulls readers into a narrative that redefines time itself.

In the early 1800s, in Yorkshire, Eliza May Drayden and her sisters live far from the public eye, devoted to their shared love of reading and writing books. When, after dozens of rejections, Eliza May's only novel, Haeger Mass, is finally published, it's labelled as 'ghastly' and 'immoral'. Over time, however, it is embraced by generations of readers as a masterpiece, and tales about its mysterious, reclusive author take on a life of their own.

In eleven extraordinary chapters, the story of Eliza May — both before and after her death — unfolds: through the tales of people who met her; her sister's letters; her biographers' words; the pages of a mysterious notebook; and the lives that become intertwined with hers, even centuries later.

In The Song of Stork and Dromedary, Anjet Daanje has crafted an absorbing literary mystery and an unforgettable meditation on love, life, loss, and the inexplicable nature of time. As the Brontës themselves did, Daanje shows us that storytelling is our only way to transcend death.

If just for once in my career as a literary critic, I could award six stars instead of the maximum of five, I would award them this week - to The Song of Stork and Dromedary by Anjet Daanje, a novel that left me so overwhelmed that I have not yet fully recovered ... I have never had a reading experience like this one, and I don't know if I will ever again be so impressed by a book.
- Thomas de Veen, NRC Handelsblad

Daanje works a deep literary vein that's full of sly allusions ... And there are sublime moments throughout, even when death comes into play ... A challenging book that rewards its readers with great depth and beauty.
- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Unforgettable ... A significant and moving literary achievement, an unforgettable story of a historical mystery ... McKay renders Daanje's distinct, rhythmic prose and character tones adroitly, alongside the atmospheric dread and luminous beauty that epitomises her writing.
- Elizabeth DeNoma, Shelf Awareness