The Sugar Works

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And it was where we first learned how sugar smells. Not white sugar from a crisp clean packet. Not golden sugar that Dad put in his coffee. Not even the soft brown sugar we sprinkled on our porridge. It was where we learned how dark, unrefined sugar smells, a giant mound of the stuff, and how that sugar smelt after it had burnt and turned to sticky, black tar...

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Enter a world of sugar mountains, toffee-scented air, and molasses pools...

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Tania's debut novel is set in Auckland in the summer of 1980. Twelve-year-old Ira Jamieson and his new neighbour, Georgia Little - impulsive, haunted by loss - explore the grounds of the local sugar refinery. As the summer rolls on, their playground moves ever further from a place of rambling and innocence, to one of danger and intrigue, and to an explosive event that will impact both their lives for years to come. Twenty-six years on, as Ira navigates a week’s stay on Nelson’s Boulder Bank with his son, Will, we learn the truth about Georgia and the silken strands that weaved their lives together.

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The Sugar Works is a coming-of-age tale, a story of adventure, love and loss,  partly inspired by growing up near Chelsea Sugar Refinery, a place as alluring and mysterious as Georgia herself. 

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"This is a compelling read and is astonishing for a debut novel. The descriptive passages totally capture the mysterious sugar factory that looms over the Waitematā Harbour, and an era when children could roam free - and sometimes dangerously. Through the young protagonist, this novel speaks to all ages with Ira’s insights as he looks back from the vantage point of later years. You’ll be carried along seamlessly to the riveting denouement."

- Jacquetta Bell QSM, founder and former director of Nelson Readers and Writers Festival.

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For publisher enquiries, please contact Vicki Marsdon at High Spot Literary Agency, vicki@highspotlit.com

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