Six lives, connected through blood and history, each rooted in the dirt of their inheritance, look to the future, and what it might hold.
THE GUANO MERCHANT
In 1855, Edward Feebes travels to the guano islands of South America, to investigate an irregularity in the accounts of the House of Feebes & Co.
THE BLACKMAILER
In 1912, post-mortem photographer and reluctant blackmailer Annie Connolly plots her escape from Ireland to America on board the Titanic.
THE IDEALIST
In 1933, idealistic Edgar Waverley faces a choice of the heart when he becomes embroiled in a country house murder.
THE SPY
In 1964, hapless KGB agent Vasily Sokolov makes his career conjuring valuable information from worthless detritus.
THE MOVIE STAR
In 1987, actor Mariam Khouri looks back at ‘Black Dirt’, the movie that lifted her from the streets of Cairo.
THE HEIRESS
In 2012, Isabelle Feebes attempts to break with her poisonous heritage once and for all. Can she forge a new life for herself in the New World? Can you ever truly escape your past?
WHAT THEY SAY
“Tidhar’s writing is alchemical, smouldering with his characters’ passions, ambitions and frustrations as it shifts genres, from murder mystery to spy thriller, and more… Spellbinding and smart, measured and fierily evocative, Six Lives is an immensely satisfying achievement.” – LoveReading
“I was blown away… Perhaps the adage write what you know doesn’t apply to Tidhar, because he veers away from Israel to tell stories that span 150 years and moving between Peru, Ireland, Egypt and more. Each section focuses on a different character, loosely linked by a watch and other small connections. Despite covering subjects as diverse as the Victorian guano trade, the KGB’s Cairo operations, post-mortem photography and an Agatha Christie-esque English country house murder, Tidhar manages to brilliantly realise each one.” – The Jewish Chronicle best summer reads 2024
Published August 2024 in hardcover, audio and e-book by Head of Zeus / Bloomsbury.
Lavie Tidhar 