The Joubert Family Chronicles

The Map of Bones

The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller

Kate Mosse

Price: £9.99

On Sale: 31 July 2025

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About the Book

'Brilliant . . . The past is felt deep in the reader’s bones' – The Observer

A sweeping story of love, adventure and adversity, The Map of Bones by Kate Mosse is an epic tale of courageous women battling to survive in a hostile land.

Olifantshoek, Southern Africa, 1688. Suzanne Joubert, a Huguenot refugee from war-torn France, arrives at the Cape of Good Hope in search of her infamous cousin – Louise Reydon-Joubert – who disappeared without a trace more than sixty years before. But not all is as it seems . . .

Franschhoek, Southern Africa, 1862. Nearly one hundred and eighty years later, another intrepid woman of the Joubert family – Isabelle Lepard – has journeyed to the Cape in search of her long-lost relations. But when she discovers that the crimes of the past are far from over, she faces a race to escape with her life . . .

Painstakingly researched and beautifully told, The Map of Bones is the fourth – and final – novel of The Joubert Family Chronicles, following the bestselling The Burning Chambers, The City of Tears and The Ghost Ship.

'This is adventure-stuffed historical fiction in the grand tradition' – The Telegraph

'A fittingly terrific conclusion [to The Joubert Family Chronicles]' – i newspaper

* The Map of Bones by Kate Mosse was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 06-10-24

Author

Kate Mosse CBE FRSL is an award-winning novelist, playwright, essayist and non-fiction writer. The author of eleven novels and short-story collections, her books have been translated into thirty-eight languages and published in more than forty countries. Fiction includes the multimillion-selling Languedoc Trilogy, The Joubert Family Chronicles (the number one bestselling The Burning Chambers, The City of Tears, The Ghost Ship and The Map of Bones), and number one bestselling Gothic fiction. Her highly acclaimed non-fiction includes An Extra Pair of Hands and Warrior Queens & Quiet Revolutionaries: How Women (Also) Built the World. The Founder Director of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction, she is the founder of the global #WomanInHistory campaign. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, Kate is a Visiting Professor of Contemporary Fiction and Creative Writing at the University of Chichester, President of the Festival of Chichester, an Honorary Fellow of the Society of Authors and a Trustee of the British Library.

Reviews

Mosse can tell a story . . . Plunge relentlessly and breathlessly in alongside Louise and Gilles in their maritime adventure - The Times on The Ghost Ship

Beautifully written and engaging from the first page, keeping you guessing until the end - Independent on The Ghost Ship

A gripping, thrilling page-turner, richly imagined and impeccably told - Toronto Star on The Ghost Ship

A gorgeously written, utterly absorbing epic and, despite being set in the sixteenth century, has some very pertinent messages for our time about the evils of religious persecution and the transcendent power of love and family. In case it’s not clear enough yet, I absolutely LOVED it - Lucy Foley, author of The Hunting Party, on The City of Tears

Magnificent, epic - Marian Keyes, author of Grown Ups, on The City of Tears

[A] dramatic, immersive tale of secrets, conspiracies, fanaticism and loss - Daily Mail on The City of Tears

Mosse is a master storyteller, balancing thrilling suspense with complex characters and a thoughtful exploration of a fascinating time in history. Her heroine Minou is a pleasure to root for: clever, loving, down-to-earth and courageous! - Madeline Miller, author of The Song of Achilles and Circe, on The Burning Chambers

Mosse’s fans will relish this tale of secrets, love and treachery - The Times on The Burning Chambers

The Burning Chambers is a tour de force, a compelling adventure that views the past with insight, compassion and humour, and reminds us of the variety of women’s voices so often forgotten in the official accounts - The Observer on The Burning Chambers

Product Details

ISBN: 9781035042173

Published: 31 July 2025

512 Pages