For fans of THE TRAVELLING CAT CHRONICLES, THE CAT WHO SAVED BOOKS and SHE AND HER CAT, discover the award-winning bestselling Japanese novel that has become an international sensation in this utterly charming celebration of the healing power of cats.

A cat a day keeps the doctor away ...

On the top floor of an old building at the end of a cobbled alley in Kyoto lies the Kokoro Clinic for the Soul. Only a select few - those who feel genuine emotional pain - can find it.

The mysterious centre ...

'A ravishing picaresque told with fireworks, finesse and gusto'

PAUL LYNCH, author of Prophet Song

In a rented room outside Plymouth in 1685, a daughter is born as her half-brother is dying. Her mother makes a decision: Mary will become Mark, and Ma will continue to collect his inheritance money.

Mary's dual existence will take her to a grand house where she'll serve a French mistress; to the navy where she'll learn who to trust, and how to navigate by the stars; to the army and the battlegr...