The Persimmon Tree Books in Order

This two‑book saga follows Nicholas Duncan, a young Australian whose life is changed by war, great love and the shifting politics of the Pacific. The Persimmon Tree and Fishing for Stars can each be read on their own, but together they trace one long arc from teenage discovery to late‑life reckoning.

In The Persimmon Tree we meet Nick in 1942 in the Dutch East Indies, where he has come in search of a rare butterfly. The Japanese invasion is closing in when he falls in love with Anna van Heerden, a beguiling young woman of mixed Dutch and Javanese heritage. Their brief time together is charged with first love and the looming threat of occupation, and they are soon forced into separate, perilous escapes.

Nick makes it to sea and is drawn into the Allied war effort, learning seamanship and survival across the islands and shipping lanes of the Pacific. Anna’s path is harsher, taking her into the machinery of the Japanese war machine and into situations where courage and compromise are both costly. The novel follows them, and a colourful supporting cast, across years of conflict, separation and hope as they try to hold onto the idea of a shared future.

By the time Fishing for Stars opens, decades have passed. Nick is now a semi‑retired shipping magnate living in a tropical haven, known to locals as a kind of patriarch of the islands. He is grieving Anna and suffering from intrusive wartime memories that he has long tried to bury.

Into this comes Marg Hamilton, a sharp, driven Australian political operator who was once Nick’s other great love. Worried about his mental state, she pushes him toward a therapist who suggests that writing may help. As Nick begins to set his story down, the novel loops back through his post‑war life: building a shipping empire, navigating corruption and environmental damage, and being torn between two very different women.

Together the books move between Java, remote Pacific islands, Australia and Japan, mixing romance, war story, business thriller and political drama. The sea and the islands are ever‑present, from coral reefs and secret coves to busy harbours and boardrooms.

Readers who enjoy sweeping wartime love stories with plenty of historical detail and moral complexity will find a lot here. Start with The Persimmon Tree to meet Nick and Anna at the beginning, then continue with Fishing for Stars to see how the choices they make echo across a lifetime.