Salt Upon the Water

1836. At the edge of empire, a woman arrives to claim her past. And her future.

Clarissa FitzRoy, a spirited woman of mixed heritage, has crossed oceans to confront Colonel William Light, the Surveyor-General of South Australia.

Bound by a shared history of dispossession by the British East India Company and haunted by secrets, Clarissa and Light must grapple with truths neither is prepared to face.

Set against the stark beauty of the South Australian coast, Salt Upon the Water is a powerful story of love, identity, and resistance. As Clarissa seeks connection with her Asian family and Light is forced to confront his complicity in colonial violence, both are caught in a tide of prejudice, race, and power that will shape the course of their lives.

Sweeping from the pleasure gardens of London to the canals of Venice, the streets of Calcutta to the island of Penang, Lyn Dickens’ award-winning novel blends magical realism with historical depth, offering a luminous reimagining of Australia’s past. A groundbreaking, poetic debut, this is a story of reckoning, resilience, and the courage to reclaim one’s voice.