Novels about place, memory, and the persistence of love.
When Nadia Roux returns to the village of her childhood after fifteen years away, she finds it half-buried in ash — a wildfire claimed the surrounding hillsides three summers ago. What she didn't expect to find was the man who left without a word, now leading the community's slow rebuild.
A story about what burns away and what somehow endures. About who we become when the scaffolding falls and the only things left are the ones that were always true.
"Moreau writes with a precision that feels almost surgical — every sentence earns its place. Winds of Ember is a book that insists on being felt."
— Publishers Weekly, starred review
The road into the village smelled of pine resin and old fire. Nadia had forgotten that — or maybe she'd chosen to. The hillside to her left was still charred in places, the burned trunks standing like spent matches against the pale morning sky.
She pulled over before the first bend. She didn't know why. She sat there with the engine running for a long moment, looking at the ridge where the Lautier farm had been, where there was now only sky.
Then she put the car in gear and drove on.
Ten questions to open conversation.
"Longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2026"
"A breathtaking first novel. One of the most assured debut voices in years."
"The real surprise is how funny it is, between all the grief. Moreau earns every emotion."
"Clara Moreau in conversation — BBC Radio 4 Open Book, May 2026"