The Sirens

A Novel

By: Emilia Hart

Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik

A spellbinding novel about sisters separated by centuries, but bound together by the sea, from the author of the runaway New York Times bestseller Weyward

"The Sirens teems with family secrets, eerie dreams, and deep transformation. A compelling tale of sisterhood, sacrifice, and the sea, this is a beautiful follow-up to Hart's sensational debut, Weyward. The Sirens will sweep you away."—Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary

2019: Lucy awakens from a dream to find her hands around her ex-lover’s throat. Horrified, she flees to her older sister’s house on the Australian coast, hoping she can help explain the strangely vivid nightmare that preceded the attack—but Jess is nowhere to be found.

As Lucy awaits her return, the rumors surrounding Jess’s strange small town start to emerge. Numerous men have gone missing at sea, spread over decades. A tiny baby was found hidden in a cave. And sailors tell of hearing women’s voices on the waves. Desperate for answers, Lucy finds and begins to read her sister’s adolescent diary.

1999: Jess is a lonely sixteen-year-old in a rural town in the middle of the continent. Diagnosed with a rare allergy to water, she has always felt different, until her young, charming art teacher takes an interest in her drawings, seeing a power and maturity in them—and in her—that no one else has.

1800: Twin sisters Mary and Eliza have been torn from their loving father in Ireland and forced onto a convict ship bound for Australia. For their entire lives, they’ve feared the ocean, as their mother tragically drowned when they were just girls. Yet as the boat bears them further and further from all they know, they begin to notice changes in their bodies that they can’t explain, and they feel the sea beginning to call to them…

A breathtaking tale of female resilience and the bonds of sisterhood across time and space, The Sirens captures the power of dreams, and the mystery and magic of the sea.

This program includes a bonus conversation with the author.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

©2025 Emilia Hart (P)2025 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"The Sirens entices us with the combination of mesmerising beauty mixed with mortal danger. Hart skillfully entwines mystical aspects into what could be construed as part-fairytale, but its multiple timeframes and historical settings are firmly grounded."—Historical Novel Society

"Hart’s second novel (after Weyward) weaves a lyrical story, intricately blending family dynamics with the magic of folklore. For fans of family relationship stories with elements of magical realism, such as the novels of Sarah Addison Allen."—Library Journal

"Full of allure and brimming with undercurrents of buried secrets... The Sirens is beautifully written and utterly compelling."—Evie Woods, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Lost Bookshop