The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding

Booktopia's 2022 Book of the Year
'It's impossible to come away from this magical story unchanged' Sally Piper
'Richly immersive. A mysterious and magical journey through loss and grief' Fiona Valpy

The last time Esther Wilding's beloved older sister Aura was seen, she was walking along the shore towards the sea. In the wake of Aura's disappearance, Esther's family struggles to live with their loss.

To seek the truth about her sister's death, Esther reluctantly travels from Tasmania to Copenhagen, and then to the Faroe Islands. On her journey, Esther is guided by the stories Aura left behind in her treasured journal; seven fairy tales about selkies, swans and women, alongside cryptic verses Aura wrote and had secretly tattooed on her body.

The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding is about the far-reaches of sisterly love, the power of wearing your heart on your skin and the way life can transform when we find the courage to feel the fullness of both grief and joy.

'I was swept away by this triumphant and luminous story' Myfanwy Jones
'Astonishing in its scope, detail and sensitivity... tender, magical, epic, funny and devastating' Kate Leaver
'Holly Ringland creates expansive, magical worlds in her novels and packs them full of love' Victoria Hannan
'Ringland is a virtuoso of fairytale storytelling for adults' Sydney Morning Herald
'Vivid and soaring... a haunting story of trauma and redemption' Books+Publishing