In a novel that spans two continents, The Umbrella Tree is a compelling and moving story, which is full of surprises.

From her home in County Wicklow, as Helena Wolff looks back on her childhood growing up in Kenya, she recalls with affection the stories of animal behaviour that her brother Horace told her all those years ago as they played together beneath the umbrella tree.

Far away from the world of her childhood, she struggles to come to terms with her traumatic past, as the normal life she has constructed threatens to fall apart.

In a novel that spans two continents, The Umbrella Tree is a compelling and moving story, which is full of surprises. There are secrets, lies, deception, love, humour and loyalty: the best and worst of human nature. Mary Stanley’s sixth novel is a beautifully written, evocative and wise story that will stay with you long after you’ve read the final page.